The Long Road Home
by its-Rayning-men
Summary: Vala leaves the SGC. "Home isn't where you are but who you're with." D/V
1. Introduction

AN: ok so I started a new fic instead of finishing what I had been writing for the SG1/DW series I was doing. Trust me though that's going to be worth the wait.

Once again this is just a short introduction. Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

***

Teal'c watched as his team mates spread out to do re-con on the bustling village, more accurately he watched Vala watch the team. He watched her watch Cam look for any military threat and saw her gaze at Sam as she did a scan for any unusual energy readings that could prove useful. He followed her as her eyes travelled to Daniel; he was talking to a local man about something he was holding in his hand. He saw the struggle in her eyes as she tried to tear herself away.

When her eyes locked with his from her place on the other side of the town square he knew what she was planning to do. He gave her the slightest of nods, knowing there was nothing he could do, nothing any of them could do, to stop her. She held his gaze a moment longer before returning the nod and turning on her heel.

Teal'c watched as she turned her back and melted into the crowd as if she had never been there at all, like he had simply been staring at a phantom. He mused on that thought for a second. In many ways they had all been looking at the ghost of Vala for a while now, a phantom that replaced the vibrant woman they had all grown to love.

He didn't alert the others, didn't chase after her and try to reason with her. He knew why she was doing this, why she had to do this. Teal'c kept silent and returned to watching the other members of SG1. For now at least he could protect them, let them have these last few hours of happiness before the world would come crashing down.

***

It was 2 hours later when Cam found her SGC clothes neatly folded in a bundle, along with her weapon, next to the DHD. Placed neatly on top of them was a small note penned in Vala's spidery script.

It simply read "I'm sorry."


	2. 4 years

AN: large part of this is in flash backs (Anything in italics). Just so as no one is confused this isn't part of my cross-over series. Thanks to everyone that read or reviewed the introduction.

***

It had been 4 years since Vala had left them, 3 since they had stopped looking for her on every mission. 2 years passed before they stopped trying to work out why she left and 1 year since any of them had mentioned her name. It had simply become too hard to keep going, to keep wondering what they had done wrong or why she had left; to painful to remind each other of what they had lost.

At first there had been arguments, both among themselves and with the powers that be, Jack included.

"_We can't just stop looking for her Jack! She's out there somewhere." Daniel threw his hands up in frustration "We don't leave people behind! It was you that told me that." _

"_Daniel, she wasn't taken by someone, she isn't lost behind enemy lines. She left of her own free will!" Jack ran his hands through his thinning hair, he had lost count of the amount of times he and Daniel have had this argument. It wasn't that he didn't like Vala, he had definitely got a kick out of her the few times they had met, but the fact remained that she had left the SGC on her own. "The President decided that enough time has been spent looking for her. Maybe if the Ori where still a threat or if Ardia was still out there then you could have some more time but… it's over Daniel" It pained Jack to be the one to tell his best friend that they had to stop, to be the one that crushed him like this but it had to be done. _

"_I… can't, no I wont, stop looking for her Jack, just because the Ori are gone doesn't mean she's not important to the SGC." Jack could see in Daniels eyes the last part of that sentence, the words 'she's important to me' that, even now, he couldn't bring himself to say out loud._

Over the months that followed their arguments became less frequent, less passionate. Hurt began to replace worry, anger replaced sorrow, and resignation replaced hope.

"_She's not going to come back on her own is she?" Sam questioned Cam over dinner one night, it had been 18 months since Vala had left but Sam still held onto that last little hope that Vala would come back on her own. _

_Cam couldn't bring himself to stamp on Sam's last hope, she was the last of them to think that she might still come home. He could admit that up until recently he had held out on the same hope but even his grandmother couldn't provide him with the words he needed to keep hoping. Daniel was a couple of months ahead of Cam but Cam could understand that. Daniel had been hurt more than the others when she left, he had fought harder and fiercer than anyone to keep looking for her but in the end it only made him lose hope quicker. Teal'c was a puzzle, he seemed to miss Vala but he had never openly shown any hope that she would come back. It was as if from the moment they found her stuff beside the DHD he knew she would not be coming back. _

_Cam left Sam's question unanswered and they finished the rest of their meal in silence. It wasn't until the next morning when he saw her in the briefing room that he noticed that that last spark in her eyes had gone out, that he realised not answering her had been the same as saying yes. _

_It was nearly a week before he could look her in the eye properly again. _

When they discovered that Teal'c had known what she was planning a fight broke out in the locker room.

"_YOU KNEW!" Daniel screamed at Teal'c, his face going red from anger. "You knew she was going to leave and you didn't stop her!" _

"_There was nothing any of us could have done to stop her Daniel Jackson." He answered calmly. _

"_Yes there was! If you had said something we could have brought her back here or we could have stopped her going on the mission. Anything would have been better than doing nothing!" Daniel couldn't believe what he was hearing, why wouldn't Teal'c try and convince Vala to stay?_

"_Vala Mal Doran would not have returned to the SGC of her own free will, what would you have done? Rendered her unconscious and dragged her back here?" _

"_YES! If that's what it would have taken to keep her here!" Daniel knew he would have dragged her back kicking and screaming if that's what it had taken._

"_And then what Daniel Jackson? Would you have kept her here against her will for the rest of her life? Would you have kept her in a cage until she no longer wished to leave?" Anger was beginning to seep into his voice now "You must accept the fact that you could not make her stay, that she is gone."_

"_WHY? If you knew all this time why she left tell me why I couldn't keep her? Why did she run again?" By this point he was right in front of Teal'c shouting directly in his face. "Why did she leave me?" _

"_Because you never asked her to stay. You told her that SG1 needed her and that the SGC needed her, even that Earth did, but you never told her that you needed her to stay. You are the reason she left Daniel Jackson."_

_This broke the last hold Daniel had on his anger and he swung his arm up punching Teal'c square in the jaw. Teal'c didn't even flinch at the blow, he simply stood and watched as Cam and Sam pulled Daniel away out of the room._

_It wasn't until they had left completely that Teal'c allowed his own fist to clench and he struck out at his locker door, leaving a large dent where the hit had connected. If he struck out in anger at Daniel or himself he didn't know and he blocked out the small voice in his head that told him that it had partly been anger at Vala._

Eventually they all stopped to mention her, it wasn't something the decided on but by a silent agreement the all began to put the past behind them and move on.

And they did.

Until 4 and a half years after she left the Gate opened and Vala's IDC was received, until General Landry gave the order to open the iris and let her through.

***

It has been 4 years since Vala left them, 3 since people had stopped telling her that her friends had been looking for her. 2 years had passed since she stopped questioning her decision and 1 year since she had spoken any of their names.

But that was about to change.

Everything had changed since she first left the SGC and now everything depended on getting to the gate and dialling Earth.

No matter what the consequences.


	3. Questions

AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Sof20 I'm glad you're enjoying it, don't know why but I can't respond to your reviews so I'll do it here.

As always let me know what you think… and don't kill for this me!

***

"Open the Iris" Landry commanded.

Everyone in the control room held there breath in anticipation, none of them knowing what to expect, and a small flare of hope rose daring them to believe that Vala was finally coming home.

The wormhole closed but it was not Vala that was standing in the gate room but a small girl.

She looked absolutely terrified as the guards stood pointing their guns at her, waiting for an order, either to take a shot or to stand down.

It seemed like forever before it came.

"Stand down!" Landry's voice booming down into the gate room seemed to brake the moment and SG1 raced down to the room. "Get a med team down there now."

The girl was visibly trembling as SG1 approached her, still standing at the top of the ramp. It was only now that they could get a proper look at her. She was tiny and rail thin, her long black hair hung limp around her face and she was filthy. She was wearing a dress but it was so faded and dirty that its original colour couldn't be made out; it hung off her small frame to just past her knees.

They shared a look and by silent agreement Sam took a step towards her but she shrank back. Another look passed between them. This time they kept their distance but it was Sam that tried to speak to her.

"It's ok, no one's going to hurt you, you're safe here." Sam told her in a soft voice. "I'm Sam." She pointed to herself to make sure the girl understood. "Can you tell me your name?" The girl didn't speak, simply shaking her head and looking around the room at all the people.

Carolyn had arrived now but was keeping back so as she didn't scare the girl more. "Teal'c?" she asked quietly "What's going on?"

Teal'c didn't get a chance to respond though as the girl had locked onto him with her eyes. "Teal'c?" She questioned her voice no more than a whisper. Teal'c stepped towards her, encouraged when she didn't step away from him, and knelt down in front of her. She lifted her tiny hand to his forehead and ran her even smaller fingers over the gold emblem that lay there. "Teal'c?" she asked again and when he nodded his head in reply she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on tightly to him. He gently stood up and placed his arms around her to hold her against him as she buried her head into his shoulder. "Ima told me to find you" She spoke in his ear, "only you. She said you would make it ok again."

A puzzled look passed among the other occupants of the room, who was this child? How had she gotten Vala's IDC? Why was she only responding to Teal'c?

"The bad men came again" She whispered to Teal'c "They wanted to take me away again. Ima said I would be safe with you." As she mentioned her mother again her eyes filled with tears and she began to cry.

"Teal'c" Carolyn's voice broke everyone's attention away from the girl. "We need to get her to the infirmary, check that she's not hurt."

Teal'c nodded in reply and followed her out of the gate room towards the infirmary, all the while trying to comfort the crying child in his arms.

The rest of SG1, along with General Landry, remained behind each just as astounded and confused as the others at this turn of events.

"Well…" Cam began but found himself unable to complete the sentence.

"Do you think that she's…?" Sam tried to complete it for him but she too couldn't wrap her head around the thought.

"Can you think of another reason why she would have Vala's IDC?" Daniel put in.

"Do you… do you think that's why she left?" Cam turned his eyes to Daniel as he said this, there had been questions flying around the SGC for years about the exact nature of Daniel and Vala's relationship, even the rest of SG1 wasn't too sure about the exact answer but if Vala had been pregnant when she left it would certainly explain a lot.

"What?" It was clear to see that Daniel was only just beginning to consider this possibility. "Why are you looking at me?"

Cam and Sam shared an uneasy look. "Well you and Vala, you where… pretty close before she left…" Cam trailed off again at the look Daniel was giving him.

"She looks too small to be that old though." Sam interjected before Cam could stir the past up more than it already had been this morning. "Vala's been gone for 4 and a half, nearly 5 years, that little girl can't be more 3. Plus if Vala had been pregnant when she left it would have shown up in her blood tests, someone would have noticed." By the look on Daniel's face Sam couldn't tell if this idea was a comfort or not.

General Landry intervened at this point "Go to the infirmary and try and get some answers out of her, we don't even know for sure if she is Vala's daughter yet." He walked off back up to the control room.

As they left for the infirmary none of them had any doubt about who the girl's mother truly was. The only question now was; why wasn't Vala with her daughter.

***

By the time the rest of SG1 had arrived in the infirmary Teal'c was sitting on a bed with the girl curled up in his lap. Carolyn was, unsuccessfully, trying to give her an examination to see if she was hurt but any time she got close to her the girl drew further into Teal'c.

Noticing the problem Teal'c lent down and softly whispered to her. "It is ok little one; no one here means you any harm." She seemed to accept his words as truth and finally allowed Carolyn to check her over. However when asked anything she would only nod or shake her head in reply.

When she had finished giving the girl a check over Carolyn stepped back to talk to SG1.

"As far as I can tell the only thing physically wrong with her is that she's malnourished and a little dehydrated. As for mentally… what ever happened before she got here obviously has her terrified. I've taken a DNA sample to confirm that she is Vala's daughter but given that she came through the gate with her IDC and the resemblance she has to Vala I would say the evidence we have is pretty conclusive, we wont get the results back for a few hours though." Carolyn explained, she turned her gaze back towards the child and Teal'c smiling softly at the tenderness the large Jaffa was showing to the child. "She wont talk to anyone apart from Teal'c, I don't know why but for what ever reason she seems to trust him."

"Can we at least try?" Sam asked "We need to find out what she's doing here."

Carolyn agreed and the rest of SG1 approached the bed. Sam grabbed a chair and brought over to the bed, sitting down in front of its occupants. "Hi" She smiled at the girl. "Do you remember me? I'm Sam." The girl peered at her from her protected place in Teal'cs lap, her curiosity momentarily gaining the upper hand of her fear; she gave Sam a small nod. "Can you tell me your name?"

She looked back to Teal'c and once again he offered her the reassurance she needed. "Tali" her small voice replied to Sam.

"Tali. That's a really pretty name; can you tell me how old you are Tali?"

"I'm 3" Tali held up 3 fingers proudly and a faint smile crossed her face.

"Wow 3? That make you a big girl doesn't it" Sam smiled at her, the confirmation of her age meant that if she was Vala's daughter (and Sam had no doubt that she was) Vala wasn't pregnant when she left the SGC. Sam didn't notice Daniel pale slightly at the revelation.

"Ima says I'm a big girl" she told them, her smile growing.

"Ima? Who's that?" Sam questioned, she had heard the Tali use the expression before but didn't know what it meant.

Tali gave Sam a confused look but it was Teal'c that answered Sam's question. "Ima is a word meaning 'mother'"

"Oh, ok." Sam reached out and gently placed a hand on Tali's arm, pleased when she didn't recoil at the touch. "Do you know where your ima is now?"

Tali's face fell again and she turned back into Teal'c, speaking the words into his chest. "The bad men found us again" she sniffled a bit and it was clear she was ready to begin crying again. "They hurt Ima and she say I have to go be safe. She said I had to find Teal'c." She only just managed to get the words out before she began sobbing again, Sam tried to rub her arm comfortingly but Tali recoiled and would only allow Teal'c to comfort her.

Sam got up from the chair and went over to Cam and Daniel, at some point while Sam had been talking to Tali General Landry had joined them.

"If someone was after Vala that would explain why Tali is here, but why only send her through? Why didn't she come back with her?" Cam asked.

"She did say that they hurt Vala, maybe she simply couldn't get through the gate?" Sam answered.

"We need to go find her." There was no room for argument in Daniels tone as he looked at Landry.

Landry looked at the 3 members of SG1 before him then over to the small child crying in Teal'cs arms. "OK SG1 you can go and see what you can find out."

"What about Teal'c sir?" Cam asked.

"Teal'c can stay here with the girl, the 3 of you can go re-con the planet the girl gated in from, see what you can find out." He began to walk out of the infirmary calling over his shoulder "You leave in 1 hour, go gear up."

***

Vala woke up with her head and body throbbing with pain. The room she was in was cold and dank. She didn't need to open her eyes to know where she was, she had spent along time in this cell over the past 4 years.

She wasn't sure how long she lay there, chained to the floor, before the room was flooded with light from the open door. Vala opened her eyes and squinted at the opening, waiting for the man she knew was coming. He appeared, his body cloaked in darkness by the light streaming in the doorway behind him, Vala watched in a state of disassociated fascination as the man raised his hand and the outline of a Gou'ald pain stick appeared.

All of this occurred in silence until the pain stick made contact with her bruised skin and a scream was torn from her throat.

"Where is the girl?" The man asked.

Vala didn't reply but summoned up enough energy to spit on the man shoes.

He chuckled and pushed the pain stick back into her skin, holding it there for longer this time.

"Where is _my _daughter?" He roared, his voiced becoming distorted in his anger.

"Some place you will never find her." Vala croaked out, anger boiling in her chest. She tensed waiting for the next stab with the pain stick but it never came instead he walked over to her and roughly grasped her chin, painfully snapping her face towards him. Vala stared into his cold eyes. "You will never find her, she's safe now." At his angered look she began to laugh, he struck her on the face but she couldn't stop herself, she had finally gotten her daughter to safety, her job was done.

The man rose from his place kneeling beside her and strode out of the room. "Jaffa! Insure she does not escape again!"

As the door closed and Vala was once again returned to complete darkness she heard the Jaffa respond; "Yes Lord Baal."


	4. Escape and Damnation

AN: Thanks again to everyone that's reviewed and all that jazz. Keep letting me know what you think, it makes it easier to write if I know people are enjoying it!

***

Vala lay on the cold hard floor of her cell trying to suppress the shivers that where wracking her body. Her latest defiance of Ba'al hadn't gone unpunished and this time he had decided to take away what little heat had already been in the cell. It was the same after every escape she had made, this was her 7th, she would escape and when Ba'al dragged her back here she would have one more 'comfort' taken from her.

After the first time Ba'al had doubled her guard. She wasn't in the cell at that point though; Ba'al had given her a set of rooms in his palace. It had only taken him 2 weeks before he had gotten her back. His anger had been great but at that point he was still so confident in his ability to 'win her over' that physical punishment had been minimal.

She hadn't been placed in the cell until after her daughter had been born, until Ba'al had been done with her and he was only keeping her around for the sick pleasure he got out of torturing her, like a 'pet' that he brought out when he was feeling bored.

She pulled ineffectually at the chain holding her to the floor. It had been put there after the first time she had escaped with Tali, her 6th over all. She had managed to stay free that time for almost 8 months, living on a stolen cargo ship going from system to system, never staying in one place for any more than a few days and never going planet side unless she absolutely had to. They stayed long enough to "smell the air but not kiss the dirt" as her father used to tell her.

Ba'al had taken her shoes and most of her clothes away this time too, making the cold that little bit more unbearable. She knew this wouldn't be her only punishment but it would be worth it, she had gotten her daughter to a place she knew she would be safe before Ba'al could complete his plan.

Huddled in the corner of her cold cell in total darkness Vala waited.

***

"DR Lam? Here are the DNA results on Tali." The nurse handed the file to Carolyn before returning to her duties.

Carolyn picked up the file from where the nurse had placed it on her desk and began to scan over the information. "Oh dear god…" She exclaimed when she saw the results. She closed her eyes and tried to suppress the angry tears that built behind them, "Vala, what did he do to you." She took in a deep breath to calm her and set off to find SG1 and her father before they could leave for their re-con mission, this was definitely information they needed to know. "Phone up to the control, tell them to delay the mission!" She called out to the infirmary before sprinting out.

By the time she got there SG1 and Landry where already up in the briefing room waiting on her.

"Carolyn? What's going on?" Landry asked.

"I got the DNA results back for Tali." She looked around the room and guilt welled up in her, how was she supposed to tell these people that one of their closest friends and one of their worst enemies had a child. "You might want to sit down…"

They all took a seat, confusion etched on each of their faces. "Carolyn, is the girl not Vala's?" Cam asked, it was the only thing that he could think of that would stop the mission.

"No Col. Tali is definetly Vala's daughter but I think I know who the 'bad men' are that have Vala." She handed the folder over to Landry and saw his usually tan face pale as he read it then passed it on to Cam.

"You're sure about this Carolyn?" Cam asked.

"Sure about what? What's going on?" Daniel asked, he was anxious to get out there and finally find out where Vala had been all these years.

"Ba'al is Tali's father." Cam told him, anger and confusion battling within him for dominance.

"WHAT? That can't be right, we were there when the Tok'ra extracted him from the last clone, Ba'als been gone for nearly 6 years!" Daniel couldn't believe what he was hearing, there must have been a mistake. "IfBa'al had Vala all this time…"

"Sir I think we need more than just the 3 of us for this, if Ba'al is out there we have a serious problem." It was the first time Sam had been able to speak since entering the briefing room and even now there was a slight tremble to her voice, the horror of what must have happened to Vala was eating away at her. Sam thought it ironic that after almost 5 years of wanting news of her friend now that she knew she wished the knowledge gone. At least when she didn't know she could imagine that Vala was lying on a beach on some remote world enjoying the native male company like she had used to joke about, her ideal retirement plan.

"Agreed Col. Stand down for the moment while we assemble more teams to accompany you, dismissed." Gen. Landry left the room for his office to arrange the extra teams needed for the now much more complicated mission.

***

There was an ongoing joke in the SGC that gossip could go round the whole base quicker than you could get to any planet through the gate. They joked about it because it was true, nothing in the SGC stayed secret for long, especially not when SG1 was concerned.

When the news of the day's events reached the ears of Woolsey, the IOA representative, he almost couldn't believe his luck. Ever since Vala had disappeared he had been calling for her head on a plate, calling her a traitor to Earth and claiming that she was out there selling information to the highest bidder. The news that the child that had come through the gate had been not only Vala's but that her father was Ba'al Woolsey took it as confirmation of everything he had been saying for the last 4 and a half years.

Striding past SG1, minus Teal'c, and into Landry's office Woolsey wasted no time in telling the General what he wanted. "General Landry I demand that when Miss Mal Doran is brought back to this facility she is immediately charged and turned over to IOA custody." He received no answer from Landry but his out burst had reached the ears of SG1 who began to walk over to the, still open, office door. "General today's events simply prove what I have been saying for years, Miss Mal Doran obviously left the SGC to return to her previous life.

Landry raised an eye brow at him. "Woolsey are you honestly trying to say you think Vala has been with Ba'al _willingly_ all these years?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying General." Woolsey's voice never wavered as he accused Vala of turning to the other side.

"Woolsey that might just be the most ridiculous thing you have ever suggested."

"It's not a suggestion General, it's a perfectly logical conclusion given the facts. Miss Mal Doran left with out a word to anyone at the SGC, and now this child turns up with rather interesting parentage."

At this Daniel couldn't stand to simply stand back and allow Woolsey to accuse Vala of these things. "You seriously think she has been out there, doing what? Playing 'house' with _Ba'al_ all these years?"

"Is it so hard to believe Dr Jackson? They obviously had some kind of relationship before she came to the SGC, there where even times when you used this fact to your advantage and you of all people know there are no limits to what Miss Mal Doran will do to get what she wants. I believe after your first encounter with her you called her a 'master of manipulation'." Woolsey was looking far too pleased with himself, a smug grin plastered on his face.

"Any 'relationship' they had before Vala came to the SGC was purely one of loathing on Vala's part, the man still had the audacity to call her Qetesh!" Daniel couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Be as it may Dr Jackson, the fact remains that we do not know the full depths of her involvement." Woolsey answered back.

"Enough!" Landry commanded "SG1 the extra teams are gearing up now, they should be ready in 20 minuets. Mr Woolsey I will be taking this matter up with the president before I even consider handing Vala over to your custody."

"Thank you General." Daniel replied.

"This matter is not over yet General, I assure you of that." Woolsey stated before exiting the office to make some calls of his own.

"You had better hope there isn't even an inch of truth to what he said because if they even get the faintest idea that there is we're going to be in some deep trouble." Landry told them. "Now, go gear up and bring our girl home."

***

Ba'al looked down at Vala; she was tied down to a table in a room directly opposite her cell. He had learned over the past few years to be extra careful about letting her out of that cell, the closer she was to it during these 'sessions' the better, it gave her less chance to escape again.

His gaze travelled over her body as he decided what to do with her this time. Looking at her battered skin he decided not to inflict his torture in that way today, it wasn't as fun when he couldn't mark her perfect pale skin himself and he didn't want to waste the time it would take to put her in a sarcophagus to heal her. Today would be mental punishment he decided; her mind was a more appealing target than her body at the moment.

"I have a new treat for you today" he told her, leaning down to speak right into her ear. She face showed no sign that she had heard his words but he could see the tremor that ran through her. Walking over to a small table he picked up a vial filled with a clear liquid and a Gou'ald memory devise. "You will tell me where you sent the girl, wither you want to or not." He injected the liquid into Vala's neck before roughly implanting the memory device into her forehead. "Now my pet, I'll ask you again, where is the girl…"


	5. Light and Shadow

AN: there's one little naughty word in this from Cam but it's nothing I don't think they've said on the show from time to time.

Sorry about Woolsey in the last chapter, AdriaJackson pointed out that he had gone over to SGA and was actually a pretty ok character now. I've not seen Atlantis in ages so I apologise for the discrepancy.

Let me know what you think :o) this should, hopefully, be the end of the Vala abuse… at least for the moment.

***

"Good luck SG1" Landry told them as they stepped through the gate with 3 other SG teams.

When they stepped through the gate on the other side they all immediately took up defensive positions. After insuring that there was no threat to the gate Cam ordered that one of the teams, SG13, stayed back to guard the gate and they set off in the direction of the large palace that could be seen high on wooded hillside.

***

"There is no hiding anything from me now my pet." Ba'al told her as he activated the memory device. Vala screamed as her mind was flooded with images, the drug coursing through her system making everything so much more vivid. "Tell me where my daughter is." Images on a screen flickered faster and faster at the same time as they raced through Vala's mind but the memory is a treacherous thing and does not always lead where we want it to. Images of Adria began to appear mixed in with those of Tali, her birth and ascension then her final death. Memories of her time on SG1 began to bleed in as well as Vala refused to think about Tali.

"My daughter, my pet, tell me where she is!" Ba'al reached his hand out and covered Vala's mouth and nose so as she couldn't breath. "Show me where she is!" But still Vala forced her thoughts away from memories of Tali, thinking of anything but her daughter. Ba'al held his hand over her until her lungs burned for oxygen and her face began to redden before he took it away, when he did Vala gulped in huge breaths of air. Walking away from her he came back with another vile of the clear liquid, Vala struggled to move away from him as he came towards her but it was useless and she once again felt the cool rush as the liquid made its way through her blood and the fog grow denser as it hit her brain, removing her more from reality and pulling her back into her own mind.

It was another two doses before Ba'al was able to manipulate her memories back to their daughter and by this time Vala was so removed from her surroundings and doped on the drug that it was impossible for her to ignore Ba'als suggestions. She just wanted it all to stop, the drug was not only working on her memory but because of the sheer amount of it in her system it was sending all her other senses into over drive. The light from the ceiling above was blinding her to everything else, Ba'als voice had become twisted and unrecognisable, and every touch to her body produced a flare of pain. Her memories had begun to merge together now to the point where she couldn't tell what was hers and what where the left over memories from Qetesh.

"My daughter Vala, show me where you sent her and it will all be over" he whispered right into her ear. "Show me…" Ba'al grinned as an image of Teal'c flashed on the screen before being replaced with the memory of a battle Qetesh had fought almost 4oo years ago. "Jaffa! Prepare my ship for launch."

"Yes Lord Ba'al." One of the Jaffa by the door answered before bowing and making his exit.

"Now my pet, that wasn't so difficult, was it?" He turned to the remaining Jaffa "Give her another dose ever 3 hours until I return, keep her tied here as well." He smiled down at Vala, stroking his hand down her cheek, grinning. "You will not defy me again my pet, of that you can be much assured." The stroke turned into a hard slap to her face before he strode out of the room, now he knew that his daughter was on Earth he was going to waist no time going after her.

***

SG1 and SG3 where nearly at the palace when they saw the Al'kesh take off from the other side of the hill. At the sight they re-doubled their pace, covering the remaining ground in only a few minuets. They paused outside to assess the guard situation but none could be seen, silently they prayed that they where not too late, that the ship had not contained everyone from the palace.

"Sam, C4." Cam ordered. "SG3 you lay down covering fire once we blow the doors. Sam, Daniel, and I will go find Vala. Let's go show this son of a bitch what happens when you mess with our people. Ready?" Once he received a nod from everyone they advanced.

The doors blew open and all hell broke lose.

***

Vala's heart slammed against her chest and she could feel the blood rushing through her veins, the world around her pulsating in time with it. There was no escaping the light above her which seemed to penetrate her very being, harsh and painfully filling her vision until she was sure she would burn with its intensity.

An explosion happened in the distance. She thought she could feel the sound wave as it hit her; see the ripples it caused in the air around her. Voices joined the noise of a fire fight, assaulting her ears until she wanted to scream for the noise to stop.

The world pulsed again as the fighting continued and the voices grew closer. Panic welled in her chest and she began to fight against the bonds that held her down, thrashing against them in an attempt to escape. "Down here, I hear a noise." A voice called, the words made no sense to her but she could almost recognise the voice, almost remember who it belonged to.

"Vala!" The loudness of the word made her cringe in pain as it registered in her ears. The word itched at the back of her brain, was it her name? She thought it might be but she wasn't sure of anything anymore apart from the pain and the light and the need to escape.

"We need to get her out of here now! Holly Hannah, what did he do to her…"

"SG3 we've got Vala, we'll be on the way back soon. Over."

"Roger Col. Mitchell."

"Jackson cut those ties. Ger her free."

Vala's head swam as she tried to fight against the flood of memories that over ran her mind. Each new voice that spoke triggered another image to flash before her eyes in excruciating detail, as if she was living the moment again. A shadow appeared in her vision, the out line of a man. "Vala, can you understand me?" Still the meaning of the words evaded her but that voice…

And then the shadow man was lifting her up into his arms, surrounding her in a cocoon of darkness as she tried to burry herself into him. The shadow man would protect her, she knew this, it was the only thing she was sure of now, like it was written on her bones and etched into her soul. She could stop fighting now.

"SG13 get ready for us, we'll be back in under 10, when you dial it up tell them we need emergency medical treatment for Vala, it looks like some kind of overdose."

The world was rushing past her now, where were they taking her? She whimpered in pain as she was jostled about as the man carrying her ran at full speed. She wanted to look at his face but her vision was so unfocused that all she could make out where two blue eyes. Her vision swam for a moment before her eyes rolled back into her head and she blacked out.

As they approached the gate SG13 finished dialling and the worm hole exploded into life.

"Cam! Hurry it up she's seizing! We need to get her back to Carolyn!"

The emergency IDC was transmitted, ensuring that a med team would be waiting on the other side, when confirmation of an open iris was received SG1 raced through the gate, and the other two teams close behind.

Vala had been rescued but now the battle to save her life would begin…


	6. Nightmares and Dreams

AN: here you go :o) I'm not to sure if the end of this works like I thought it would but I've stopped messing with it otherwise this would never be posted.

As always let me know what you think and feel free to tell me if I got any of the medical stuff wrong. I'm not a doctor, I don't even play one on TV and wikipedia is the source of most of my knowledge for this.

You're getting 2 chapters today because this was ment to be the second half of the last chapter but it got far to long so i split it up, enjoy :o)

***

As soon as they where back through the gate Vala was placed on a gurney and whisked off to the infirmary.

There was a flurry of activity around Vala as various monitors and equipment was attached to her. "She's hypertensive and tachycardic we need to get her BP and heart rate down now." Carolyn looked over her shoulder to where SG1 had followed her into the infirmary. "Do any of you have any idea what she was given?" At their blank looks she guessed they didn't. "Well did you at least bring back a sample of it?"

"There wasn't really time Carolyn…" Cam never got to finish his explanation/excuse as Carolyn had already turned back to Vala.

"Draw blood, arterial as well, find out what the hell she was given and if there's anything we can do to flush it out." She drew out a pen light and tried to check Vala's pupil response but Vala had regained consciousness and was beginning to fight the staff trying to help her. "Vala! Vala, look at me. It's Carolyn Lam, you're at the SGC, and you're safe now. Vala I need you to calm down." She grabbed both sides of Vala's face between her hands, forcing Vala to look at her. "You're safe Vala but you need to calm down, ok?" Some part of must Vala realised what was happening and where she was because gradually she stopped fighting them. Carolyn turned to the nurse next to her. "We need cooling packs; her temperature is through the roof. Where's my Valium?" Another nurse handed her a syringe and, after checking the dosage, she pushed it into Vala's IV line. Almost immediately Vala's heart rate started to return to normal. The cooling packs arrived soon after and where placed around Vala to try and bring her temperature down. "Anything on what she was given?"

"It's not anything we can identify apart from saying its some kind of stimulant." Another nurse told her.

"O.K. well until we find out what it is exactly we'll just need to treat the symptoms and pray that Vala's metabolism is as fast as she used to brag about." Carolyn rubbed her temples; this was going to be a long night. "What's this on her forehead?" The memory devise had gone unnoticed until Vala's hair had been swept back in an attempt to help cool her down.

"It's a memory enhancer; Ba'al must have been using it on her." Sam told her, her own memories of the devise stirred in her mind. There was an incoherent mumble from Vala as she attempted to speak.

"Well how do we get it off?" Carolyn snapped.

Sam came over to the bed and leaned over Vala to remove the devise but Vala's had flew up with surprising speed and tightly grabbed her wrist.

"T…Tali?" She questioned, her voice slurred and the word almost unrecognisable.

"She's safe Vala, she's with Teal'c…She's safe." Sam tried again to take the devise off but it wouldn't de-activate. "I can't get it off Carolyn…"

"Leave it then, we have bigger problems to worry about just now, we need to get her body stable before we worry more about her mind."

***

After hours of waiting they still couldn't establish what it was exactly that Ba'al had given her and Carolyn had to stay the course of letting it flush out of Vala's system on its own. The process was horrific for her friends to watch, they had refused to leave her bed side but it was one of the most difficult things they had ever done. The over dose that Ba'al had given her was not enough to kill her but it was enough to make her wish she had died the come down was so bad. The fact that they still couldn't remove the memory devise only made the process more painful, they had ordered for their own set to be flown in from Area 51 but it would be hours yet before it arrived.

The only one not there was Teal'c. He was with Tali, trying to explain to the small, frightened, child why she could not see her mother. There had been tears and tantrums and eventually the girl had fallen asleep in his arms with the promise that as soon as it was ok to do so she could go and see her mother.

Cam, Daniel and Sam sat by Vala's side as terrible chills and pains ran through her body. They sat and watched as she tossed and turned in a restless sleep, and as she cried out in silent screams, if they where because of the pain she was now in or the pain she was remembering in her nightmares they couldn't tell. The periods where she was awake where no better. She would call out for Tali and cry for Adria; sometimes it would be the other way around. The almost constant stream of apologies to her children brought tears to the eyes of those that had to listen to it.

When she begged Daniel for an end to it all Sam had to leave the room.

"Please Daniel…" Her voice was so weak and pained, nothing like the woman they all remembered. "Please Daniel, I can't do this anymore… I'm so tired…" Tears spilled out of her silver eyes and down her cheeks.

"I can't Vala, you need to hold on. You're stronger than this." She shook her head and her tears fell faster. "You need to fight, just a little bit more, just a little harder."

She screamed at him, a loud anguished sound from some deep and primal part of her. "A friend would do it for me! A friend wouldn't let me suffer… please Daniel." She begged. "Let me have some peace."

***

By morning the drugs had worn off enough that Carolyn thought it would be safe to give Vala some morphine for the pain she was in. The only down side to this was that it added to her delirious state, Vala had always had a rather strong reaction to it.

"Daniel…" Her voice trailed off dreamily, "I knew you would turn up sooner or later, you always do." Her head lolled to the side to look at him. "Which one are you going to be today then?"

Daniel shared a smile with Cam and Sam, the first one since before they had left to bring her home. "Which what?"

"Don't play games with me Daniel, we've done this far too often for you not to know what I'm talking about…so… which you are you?" She waved her arm about aimlessly as she spoke and Daniel could tell from the look in her eyes that she wasn't focusing on anything.

"I'm the real me Vala, the real Daniel."

This seemed to send her into a fit of laughter, long and hard with a slightly manic edge to it. When she calmed down enough to speak she looked him dead in the eye, squinting slightly to focus on him. Cam had to suppress his own little laugh at the picture she presented. "You can't be the 'real' Daniel, he doesn't exist. Maybe you're the man I thought he was but you my fine figment friend are not him." She closed her eyes then and they thought she was falling asleep when suddenly she spoke again. "I learned along time ago that _my _Daniel never existed."

Daniels face fell. Was this really how Vala felt about him or was it simply the drugs talking? He couldn't resist asking her the question that had been burning in his mind since she left, he knew it was wrong to take advantage of her in this state but he knew he might not ever get another chance. "Was that why you left, because of me?"

"I left because _my_ Daniel was a dream and love…" She sat up, flopping forward slightly, and attempted to point her finger at him. "Love has no place in dreams… love is a thing of desire and we all know that desire is a cruel master…" She collapsed back onto her pillows and, ironically, the last words she muttered before she fell back asleep where "It was time for me to wake up…"

***

By early afternoon Carolyn had deemed it ok that Tali could visit her mother, who was still out of it. Before she was allowed in Carolyn sat with her and Teal'c to try and explain what was happening.

"Is Ima very sick?" Tali asked, over the last 24hours her confidence had grown enough that she would talk to SG1 and Carolyn with out much hesitation.

Carolyn gave her a reassuring smile. "She is but she's getting better Tali, now you can go in and see her in a little bit but first I need to tell you something ok?" The girl nodded. "When you go in there's going to be lots of machines around her but there all there to help her get better, so I want you to try and be brave because it might be a bit scary. Do you think you can be brave Tali?" When she received another nod she allowed Teal'c to carry her into the room where Vala was.

"Do they hurt her?" She asked, pointing at the machines around her mother.

"No little one, they are making sure she is getting better."

"When I scrapped my knees Ima kissed it better, you think if I kissed Ima she would get better?" She asked Teal'c and both he and Carolyn had to smile at the young girls innocence.

"I think it would help a lot if you did Tali." Carolyn told her as Teal'c placed her on the bed beside Vala, mindful of the wires and IV lines that where attached to her. Behind them the rest of SG1 silently entered the room, remaining content to simply watch the tender moment unfold.

Tali knelt at her mother's side and placed a wet kiss to her forehead, causing Vala to stir slightly in her sleep. She pulled back quickly and looked at Teal'c with a worried expression on her face, her lower lip caught between her teeth in the exact same way Vala did. When Teal'c showed no sign that she had done anything wrong she turned back to her mother and carefully lay down beside her.

In her sleep Vala wrapped her arms loosely around her daughter, pulling her closer, and smiled gently.

In her dream Vala held her arms tightly around her daughters, pulling them closer as Daniel wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she flashed him her 100 watt smile.


	7. Past Revisited

AN: not much to say about this except that it was a pain and took twice as long as it should have.

Let me know what you think :O)

***

"How's she doing?" Cam asked Carolyn as they stood and watched Vala and her daughter sleep.

"Most of the stimulant is out of her system. She's lucky if it had been anyone else, apart maybe from Sam, it would have killed her. She'll be pretty weak for the next few days or so."

Cam looked at her and could tell there was something she wasn't telling him. "Carolyn what else is it?"

"She's recovering from the initial overdose but the long term problems… to be honest there's no way to know if she'll ever fully recover; mentally or physically." She signed "Liver, kidney and heart problems could develop, she's now at a much higher risk for a stroke and there's no telling what the effect on her immune system will be."

"What about mentally? I mean, this is Vala we're talking about, as far as we know she's the only person to survive being a host and still be sane." Carolyn gave him a look. "Well, relatively sane."

"Until she's assessed properly and we know exactly what's happened over the past 4 years… like you said she's the only person to survive being a host, it could be that she's mentally strong enough to over come this or it could be that this is what finally pushes her over the edge, there's no telling right now. All we can do is wait, it's up to Vala now."

Cam put his arm around her and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She smiled up at him and they returned to watching mother and daughter sleep.

It was nearly 10 minuets before Cam thought to remove his arm.

***

By dinner time there own memory devise had arrived, they where hoping that they could remove Ba'als devise using their own controller before Vala woke up properly.

Woolsey had other ideas though.

"General I think it is the best way to find out the truth of what has really been going on these past years! We can not simply rely on what Miss Mal Doran tells us."

"Mr Woolsey are you honestly suggesting that we interrogate Vala using the same methods that Ba'al has used against her?"

"I am simply suggesting the best way to get to the truth and before you waste time arguing more I have the full backing of the IOA and the President on this. We all feel that this matter must be dealt with as quickly as possible, either this will prove her innocence or we will find out exactly what Ba'al has planned. Or would you prefer we interviewed the child?"

Landry let out a long slow breath, if the President was behind this idea there was really nothing he could do to stop it. "Fine, as soon as Dr Lam says she's stable and coherent enough."

"Thank you General."

***

Carolyn wasn't happy about this decision but orders where orders and there was nothing she could do. Vala was medical stable and the sedation was beginning to ware off by the time she was fully conscious a visual up link for the memory devise had been set up.

"If at _any _point during this I think it's placing too much stress on her we stop. Understand?" Carolyn told Woolsey, who would be conducting the 'interview'.

Only he and Carolyn would be in the room with her but SG1 was in the observation room above watching.

"O.k. Miss Mal Doran, lets start from the beginning."

Vala closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on when Ba'al had first captured her. The images that appeared on the large screen where blurred and flickered as Vala tried to remember how it all began, an image crystallised but it was clear that it was not what they where looking for.

_Ba'al and a female Gou'ald where standing over a young Vala as she lay on some kind of large table._

"_Do you approve my Queen?" Ba'al asked the woman._

_She smiled at him and ran a finger down seductively down his cheek. "She is perfect, my Lord"_

As quickly as it had appeared it was gone as Vala dragged her thoughts away from it and another image appeared. Vala began to speak as the memory played out for all to see.

"I was on Marius when his Jaffa found me…"

_The jaffa entered the small bar, there were 6 of them in total, walking up behind Vala they used a zat gun to subdue her before she even had the chance to turn fully round to face them._

"When I woke up I was in one of his privet rooms on his ship."

_Vala groaned as she awoke and looked around. Instead of the cell she was expecting to find her self in she was in what appeared to be a large bed room, lying on a huge bed. The room was dimly lit but she could tell from the décor that she was on a Gou'ald ship; no one else in the galaxy had this much of an enthusiasm for gold walls and naked flames. Looking down at herself she began to panic as she realised that while she had been unconscious someone had changed her clothes. Instead of the well worn black leathers she had been wearing she was now in a white flowing dress._

_She got up and began to explore the room more, desperately trying to work out who was holding her. She got her answer as she turned to face the bed full on and there above it was Ba'als emblem embossed onto the wall. _

_A normal person would have screamed in this situation, shouted for help, banged on the doors and begged for someone to let them out. Vala, however, had been in this position before and knew it would not only be futile to do this but that it would waste precious energy she might need later. _

"It was 3 days before we arrived at a planet, they transported me down by rings and he was there, waiting for me."

_The flash of light from the rings dissipated and Vala saw Ba'al standing before her, a grin on his face._

"_My dear Qetesh, I see you have finally decided to leave you friends. I never could understand why you persisted in staying on their primitive planet or why you allied yourself with them." He approached her and ran a finger down her cheek. The Jaffa holding her prevented her from moving away from the touch. "I must admit when news reached me of your leaving it was just what the inspiration I needed." He came even closer to her now, whispering right in her ear. "You will be my final revenge." The words sent a shiver down her spine but she still had enough courage that, when Ba'al took a step back, she spat in his face._

"_I'll never help you." She told him, her voice defiant._

_He laughed at her before bringing the hand bevies up to her forehead and using it on her. "You have no choice."_

"I was there nearly a week before I fully understood what his revenge would be. At first I thought it was to win me over as an ally, to have me in his power the same way he had Qetesh, he certainly treated me that way. I wasn't put in a cell and I had almost free reign of the palace. I couldn't escape though; there was always Jaffa with me, 4 of them at the least." She reached out for the glass of water beside her and Carolyn had to hold it for her as her hands where shaking so much. "It wasn't… it wasn't until the first night he came into my room that I…" She paused and the imagines on the screen blurred as she tried to repress the memory of that night but there was still no mistaking what she had meant, the brief and blurred pictures told a very definite, and violent, story. "That was the first time I tried to escape."

_Vala looked out of the window of her room, she was 2 flights up but she knew this was the only way out. The rest of the palace was crawling with Jaffa and there was 2 posted outside the door to her room. _

_She climbed into the window and braced herself before jumping out of it. She landed with a thump and her already battered body protested loudly at the further abuse. It was almost pitch back, the only light on the whole planet coming from the palace behind her and the small slither of moon that was out. It was a warm summer night but she still couldn't stop herself from shivering. Way in the distance down the wooded hill she could see a clearance, if there was a Gate on this planet this is where it would be. _

_It was hard going through the woods, she was injured both from her fall and from what Ba'al had done to her earlier in the night. Before long she heard the sounds of the Jaffa beginning their search for her and she picked up her pace, if they made it to the gate before her she wouldn't stand a chance. _

_She ran, low branches and bushes whipping at her legs, stone cutting up her bare feet, her vision impaired by the darkness and her left eye being swollen shut. Her breathing was hard, her heart drumming against her chest, as she reached the clearing and could just make out the shape of the gate. Running faster towards it she didn't even see the Jaffa standing in the darkness beside it until he fired off a shot from his zat gun._

"He came into my room every night after that, I don't know how long for but there was snow on the ground when I realised I was pregnant. I knew then what he truly wanted, what his ultimate revenge would be. It wasn't me as a prisoner or even as his partner, it was as the mother of his child. I didn't think it could get much worse, but it did."

_Ba'al stood off to the side while the 'Doctor' worked on Vala. _

_She screamed and cried out but the two men simply ignored her. She gave another long scream and this time it was followed by the cries of a baby. The Doctor cut the cord and cleaned her off before handing her up to Vala. She cradled the tiny baby in her arms and tears flowed down her face, both in happiness and sorrow, she lent down and kissed the girl on the forehead. _

_Ba'al cam over and stood over them. "Name her." He told Vala, he had a grin on his face but it was one of pure evil rather than one of happiness._

"_Tali." She whispered, the name was one of her own peoples meaning "gift from god", ironic but then naming Adria after her evil stepmother had been as well._

_Ba'al took the child from her mother's arms, ignoring both their protests, and looked her over. He smiled again. "Yes…She will make a fine host…" He didn't look back as Vala screamed at him to bring her daughter back, he simply told the Doctor to "fix her." _

As SG1 watched the view screen from the observation room they all felt their eyes burn with tears, or anger, as they saw Vala be separated from yet another one of her children. Vala herself had drawn further into herself as she had relived the event. Her knees where drawn up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them and her head placed atop of them. Her breathing was harsh and the heart monitor Carolyn had her hooked up o was beginning to beep faster and faster.

"Col. Carter! Get down her and get this thing off of her." Carolyn ordered, drawing out a syringe filled with Valium. "Vala you need to calm down, you're hyperventilating, you need to breathe…" but it was no use, Vala was too lost in her own memories to register the world around her.

Sam ran into the room with the controller for the devise as Carolyn pushed the meds into Vala's IV. As she shut it off and removed it the last image was frozen on the screen; Vala begging for her daughter to be brought back to her, Tomin at her side.

As Vala calmed and drifted off in a drug induced sleep Carolyn turned to Woolsey. "I think that answered your questions, she's done for the day." There was no room for argument in the tone of her voice.

Woolsey was flustered, he had honestly expected that Vala had been involved with Ba'al in some plan against Earth but what he had just witnessed was truly harrowing.

"Yes…well I'll inform the IOA and the President that Miss Mal Doran poses no imminent threat to Earth. Excuse me."

When he got to his office he went into the bottom drawer and produced a bottle of Scotch, pouring himself a good 3 fingers worth he swallowed it in one go. He slammed the glass back onto the table and took a moment to calm himself before picking up the phone.

***

On the very edge of the solar system a ship dropped out of hyperspace.

"My Lord, we have arrived." The Jaffa at the helm reported.

"Cloak the ship, take us in to Earths orbit." Ba'al ordered.

"Yes my Lord."


	8. Tali

AN: a shorter chapter this time but after the last few chapters I think a break was needed from all the heavy stuff. There's still plot and all that but nothing too dark.

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

***

Tali was in the mess hall with SG1 eating dinner. More precisely SG1 was eating and Tali was trying to simultaneously build a fort out of her mashed potatoes and hide her peas in it.

In the few days that she had been on earth she had over come her initial fear and, especially now that Vala was there, had begun to act more like a normal child.

It had taken Teal'c almost an hour to get all the tangles out of her hair and clean the dirt off of her when she first arrived but now he found himself looking forward to 'bath time' every evening before she went to sleep. It took him back to the days when his own son had been this small, although Rya'c did not share Tali's enthusiasm for water. Even under pain of torture Teal'c would never admit to allowing the small girl to cover his face in bubbles and call him 'Captain Bubble Beard'.

Now with clean clothes and not covered in dirt it was easy to see her resemblance to Vala, both physically and in her mannerisms. She glowed under the attention she received from all of the SGC and it was clear to see that before coming to Earth the girl had only known affection from her mother. She was a bright child and very articulate for her age with a curiosity that made Daniel cringe the few time Teal'c had brought her into his office. However she had clearly inherited her temper from her father and it was more than a little unsettling to see Ba'als scowl on the girls face.

No one on base was exactly sure of what Tali actually _was_. Most of the time she appeared a normal girl but then she would say something that would leave people wondering if there was more to her than met the eye. Speculation was mounting, many thought she might be another Harcesis child and others thought that because of what Vala had gone through with Adria it might have left some lingering after effects that had been passed on to her half-sister.

Of one thing though SG1 was sure of, she was Vala's daughter and that was all that mattered.

"You would finish your meal quicker little one if you stopped trying to build things out of it." Teal'c told her. She looked like she was about to protest but when he raised an eyebrow at her she silently began to actually eat the food in front of her, except the peas which she kept buried in a mound of mash.

"Can we go and see Ima again after we finish?" She asked around a mouth of chicken.

"Your moms asleep just now Tali, remember we told you how she wasn't feeling well?" Cam told her.

A small frown crossed her face and she paused for a moment, her lower lip caught between her teeth. "She isn't sick is she?" She asked the adults.

"Yeah she is, but she's getting better, she just needs a lot of sleep right now to do it." Sam tried to explain.

"But it's not like a tummy bug is it…" She looked Sam straight in the eyes and her voice was too sad and knowing for a child that young when she continued, "He hurt her again, didn't he."

Teal'c pulled her into his lap from her seat beside him. "He did little one but he will not do so again, you and your mother are safe here. I promise you this."

She snuggled down into Teal'cs embrace "Can we go see her anyway?" she asked.

"Of course but now you must finish your meal." He told her as he set her back down in her own seat.

"He can't find us here can he?" She asked them.

"No, he can't, the base is protected so no one can take you out of it unless we want them to." Sam explained.

"Do you want them to?" She asked in a small voice.

"Never Tali," Daniel told her "You and your mother are both very special to us."

She pulled her knees up to her chest as Daniel spoke, not the reaction he had been trying to achieve with his comforting words. "_He_ used to call me that…" She whispered. "He said I was his special little girl."

The tone of her voice told the team that 'special' in this case wasn't a good thing. When Carolyn had examined her when she first arrived she couldn't find any evidence of abuse but was it possible they had missed something? They shared a look and stood about to abandon their unfinished meals and leave the mess hall when she spoke and stopped them.

"He didn't hurt me, not like Ima. He wanted to make me big so he could put a snake in my head." She told them bluntly, as if she didn't realise the impact of her words or simply accepted them as a fact of life.

They took their seats again, receiving a few odd looks from the other people in the mess.

"Can I have some pie now?" She asked, as if nothing had happened.

***

Vala was awake but tired when Teal'c brought Tali in to say good night to her.

Teal'c placed her on the bed beside her mother but Vala immediately scooped her into her arms and held her close. Tali was content to sit and be held, her head resting against Vala's chest, listening to her heart beat as Vala stroked her hair.

"It's going to be ok now Ima, Teal'c promised." Vala didn't answer her; she simply continued stroking her long dark hair. "Teal'c promised so now you don't have to be sad any more." She turned her face up to her mothers and Vala looked down at her. "Please don't be sad."

"As long as I have you my darling I could never be sad." She placed a kiss to the top of Tali's head "Now I think it was time you where off to bed young lady."

Tali kissed her mother goodnight and held her arms out for Teal'c to pick her up again. When Teal'c reached over to pick her up Vala placed her hand on his arm. "Thank you Teal'c." She told him. "For everything."

He bowed his head to her "The honour is mine, old friend." He picked Tali up and the little girl rested her head against him, her energy beginning to drop. "Come little one, it is time to sleep."

As he left a muffled 'don't wanna sleep.' could be heard as Tali weakly protested bed time but sleep began to over take her.

***

By the time Teal'c reached his quarters and placed the girl down in the second bed that had been placed there for her she was almost fully asleep.

"Teal'c?" She asked as he pulled the blankets over her. "Why does Ima never smile anymore?"

"It will take time, but she will smile again one day, for you."

"She used to cry when she thinked I was sleeping… who's Adria?"

Teal'c sat on the edge of the bed trying to work out what to tell her; finally he decided that the truth was the best option. "She was your sister, but she died and it made your mother very sad." He leaned down and kissed hr forehead. "Do not worry little one you make her happy again and she will smile again in time. Sleep now, and dream good dreams." Even before he had finished talking her eyes had fallen shut and her breathing had evened out as she fell asleep.

Teal'c watched her sleep for a moment and silently mourned the loss of the mother Vala should have been to Adria and the childhood that had been taken from both of her daughters.

Instead of meditating like he had planned to Teal'c sat down and began a much over due letter to his own child.


	9. Presents and Problems

AN: Thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing this :O)

I have the end, and an epilogue, written but there's still a bit to go before we get there and I don't know what happens in-between yet so any feed back you have would be fantastic.

Also, what is it with them just naming things the ___ device? Oh well…

***

"Jack! What are you doing here?" Daniel called as the elevator doors opened to reveal Jack standing waiting on him.

"Vala turns up with a munchkin in tow and you expect me too keep away?" he replied with a grin on his face, it faded slightly as Daniel got out of the elevator and they began walking. "How are they doing?"

"Tali seems to be better now that Vala's back, she's a cute kid, and Vala…" Daniel didn't know how to describe what Vala had been through or what she was feeling. He had avoided being in a room alone with her since her drug induced explanation of why she had left but he was planning on changing that by visiting her in the infirmary, which was where he was heading when he ran into Jack.

"Yeah." Jack agreed, knowing his friend well enough to realise if he had nothing to say it must be bad. "Carter sounded pretty shaken up about it when I spoke to her on the phone last night." They continued on in silence.

As they approached the infirmary they could hear shouting coming from within and see a large crowed gathering to see what the ruckus was about.

"I'm fine Carolyn!" Vala could be heard shouting.

"No you're not! You'll stay in that bed until I say you're fit to get out of it; I'll have you tied to it if I have to." Carolyn sounded just as exasperated and annoyed as Vala.

Jack and Daniel got close enough to see what was going on, the crowd parting slightly to let them through. Vala was sitting with her legs over the side of the bed arguing with Carolyn while Tali sat on the bed watching in amusement.

"You wouldn't dare." Vala shot back.

The annoyed look on Carolyn's face was replaced with a dark smile and amusement twinkled in her eye. "Fine, go on then, you're right. There's nothing I can do to stop you if you really want to leave."

"Thank you, I assure you, there's no further need for me to be kept in the infirmary." Vala sounded completely sure of herself and more than slightly proud at defeating Dr Lam on the issue of her having to stay in bed.

Vala braced herself on the side of the bed and stood on shaky legs. Carolyn just watched as Vala began to walk away and Jack could see her counting under her breath, when she got to 7 she took a few steps up behind Vala and by 9 she was catching her as she began to fall over. The two nurses who had been there also grabbed her and they manhandled her back into her bed.

Vala huffed as they pulled the blanket back over her and pushed some more meds into her IV line, Tali simply began laughing at her mother. Vala stuck her tongue out at her daughter, who fell onto her side laughing. "Told you so!" The girl got our between bouts of giggles.

"Trying to make a break for it Vala?" Jack asked, announcing their presence to the rest of the room.

Tali's laughter stopped and she clambered into her mother's arms as the two men came closer. "Is he like the bad woolly man?" She asked Vala, burying her head into Vala's shoulder.

A look of confusion passed over the 3 adults faces. Jack was the first to crack a grin, followed by Vala, as they worked out what Tali was trying to say. Daniel remained clueless and turned to Jack for an explanation. "She means Woolsey, space monkey."

"Ah" Daniel let a smile of his own spread across his face.

"No darling, he's not like Mr Woolsey." Vala smiled down at her and tried to get her to turn around. "This is Jack, why don't you say hello?"

Tali turned slightly in Vala's arms " 'ello Jack." She murmured, her head now turned away out of shyness instead of fear.

Jack bent down to face level with the girl and looked around conspiratorially "I've got a present for you." He told her in a stage whisper. Vala sent Daniel a puzzled look over Jacks back but he simply shrugged in reply, this was Jack, who knew what he was planning.

Tali turned and looked at him, still shy but the prospect of a present drawing her out. "Present?" she asked curiously.

Jack reached into his pocket and produced a bright yellow yo-yo with daisies on both sides. "Just for you." He told her.

She looked to her mother and when Vala nodded her head she reached out her small hand to take it from Jacks open palm. "What do you say?" Vala prompted.

"Thank you Jack." She told him, not taking her eyes of the yo-yo. When she did a her brow was furled in confusion " 'Tis it?" She asked.

Jack leaned in as if he was telling her the biggest secret ever and Tali leaned in closer to him as well. "It's called…" He paused, making Tali lean in further still, "A yo-yo." He finished.

"Jack she's only 3! She's never going to be able to use that!" Daniel half laughed.

"Shush you! She'll be brilliant at it. Wont you?" He gave the little girl a wink which she tried to return but turned into more of an exaggerated blink.

As Tali once again began inspecting the yo-yo Vala looked over at Jack, "Thank you Jack, you didn't need to do that for her, but some how I don't think you flew all this way just to teach her how to use a yo-yo." The arch of her brow as she asked the question would have made Teal'c proud.

Jack shrugged, "I just thought another friendly face couldn't hurt and I wanted to deliver the good news in person."

"Good news?" Daniel and Vala asked at the same time.

"The President has spoken with the IOA and, in light of Woolsey's report, has decided to grant you refuge on Earth if you want it, permanent refuge, but there's a small catch." Jack told them.

"What's the catch?" Vala asked, her arm protectively sneaking round Tali's side.

"They want blood samples from Tali, one a year while you remain on Earth." He told them quietly; luckily the girl was still too distracted by the yo-yo to listen to the adults' conversation.

"She's not what they think she is Jack, she's not Harcesis." Vala told him softly, ensuring that Tali didn't hear. Vala vividly remembered Ba'als fury when he found out, she had hoped it would stop him from going through with his plan but it hadn't. He was going to take comfort in the knowledge that Tali, even by her very existence, would hurt his greatest rivals when they found out about her.

"Then why does Ba'al want her so badly?" Jack, along with the President and the IOA had assumed that Ba'als plan was the same as Apophis's had tried all those years ago. "If she's not Harcesis then why take her as a host?"

"For one last act of revenge, on us all." Her eyes glazed over slightly "What better why to hurt you than by taking the daughter of your friend as a host? What better way to punish me."

"If she's not a Harcesis then why not let them do the tests Vala? All they want is a blood sample. They don't find anything the first time round and the two of you get some place safe to stay." Jack wasn't too keen on the idea and knew what a difficult decision it had to be for her but he desperately wanted her to remain on Earth, he didn't know if he could watch his friends fall apart a second time if she left. "Think about it." He told her.

Vala leaned back into her pillows; this information coupled with her earlier 'escape' attempt had tired her out her. She was saved from having to continue the conversation when Teal'c and Cam entered the room.

"Lunch time." Cam grinned, then noticed Jack and sprung to attention, saluting. "General O'Neill, Sir"

"At ease Mitchell." He told Cam before turning back to address Tali. "Well, what do you think? How about lunch then I teach you how to use that thing? The I've got a special movie I think you should see."

She nodded her head. "kiss" she order Vala, who kissed her on the head, before holding out her arms. When Jack reached out to pick her up though she shook her head "Teal'c!" she called.

Teal'c walked over and lifted her down from the bed, setting her on the floor. She looked down, puzzled for a moment, before looking back up at Teal'c with a pout on her face. "Want you to carry me." She stated.

The other adults shared an amused look as Teal'c stared down at her. "Do you have legs?" He asked her calmly.

"Yes…" She squinted up at him, trying to work out his point.

"Do you have feet on the end of them?" He asked, still staring her down.

"Yes." Tali definitely didn't like where this was going.

"Then you can walk little one." He told her simply.

"But…" The pout increased and everyone was sure the large Jaffa would give in but he simply held out his hand to her. "Fine." She huffed and accepted his hand.

The others turned to leave but Jack put his hands on Daniels shoulders, pushing him down into the chair at Vala's side. "You stay here Daniel." He told him, giving him a pat on the back.

By the time they had gotten to the door Tali had obviously forgiven Teal'c for making her wait and was telling him and Cam all about Vala's escape attempt and the present Jack had given her. They where almost fully gone when something clicked in Daniels head. "Jack!" He called.

"Daniel." The reply came as he stuck his head back round the door.

"It's Indiana Jones that you want to show her isn't it."

"What? Never, it's far too old for her." Jack tried to play innocent.

"Don't go telling her that it was based off my life Jack, we had enough problems when you told that to Vala!" Daniel told him, Vala had refused to believe that Jack had lied to her and had called him Indi for weeks afterwards.

Jack didn't respond, simply turning to catch up with the others.

Daniel turned back to Vala, ready to finally have a proper conversation with her but it was too late, she was already asleep. He took a minuet to study her properly.

She had changed in the years since she left, she seemed more worn down, and he could tell the dark circles under her eyes where not a recent occurrence. Her hair was much longer than he had ever seen it, reaching half way down her back, but it was just as wild as he remembered. He reached out and brushed some of it back from her face and Vala smiled in her sleep as he did so.

He sighed, "Tomorrow, I'll say it tomorrow." He promised, both to Vala and himself.

***

_That Night_:

Cam lay in bed and switched the TV off as he gave in to sleep, plunging his bedroom into darkness.

*

Sam rubbed her eyes as the words in front of her blurred. Deciding it was time to stop reading and go to sleep, Sam rolled over and switched the bedside lamp off and closed her eyes.

*

In his bed in Daniels spare room Jack slept deeply and dreamed of a lake full of fish

*

In his own bed Daniel pulled the spare pillow and tried to block out the sound of Jack snoring that was coming from down the hall, eventually he was able to close his eyes and sleep too.

***

In the darkness the Jaffa moved quietly across the bedroom, there Zat guns drawn. A nod was given and while hand shot out to cover the mouth of the sleeping form on the bed, the other two grabbed the arms to hold them still. Wide eyes stared back at them as Ba'al stept up to the side of the bed.

He grinned down and raised the brainwashing devise to level with the panicked eyes.

The light on the devise turned fully to green.

"You will bring my daughter to me." Ba'al stated.


	10. The morning after the night before

AN: Ok so I wrote this, then I re-wrote it, then I went away and had some toast, came back and re-re-wrote it.

Thanks for the reviews and other comments you guys have sent me :o) you're all awesome. Keep it up! Let me know what you think of this.

***

Cam walked towards the infirmary with a thumping head ache. He had woken with it this morning and since then it had refused to move so he had decided the time had come to go and see Carolyn for some pain meds. When he passed by Vala he noticed that Tali wasn't with her.

"Hey Princess where's the half pint?" Apart from meals and when she went to sleep in Teal'c quarters Tali usually spent the day with her mother in the infirmary.

"She's with Jack, he says he's not letting her go until she shows him how she managed to work that yo-yo properly." A frown crossed her face as she saw Cam rub his temples. "Head ache?"

"Like you wouldn't believe…" Hr gave her a sheepish grin as he realised what he had said. "Well maybe you would. How you feeling today, planning your next escape attempt?"

She smiled at him. "I think Carolyn may have had a point" She saw the grin spreading over his face "but only a small one!"

"You got enough to do there or you want me to get you something?"

"I'm fine for the moment Cameron; Samantha brought me some magazines this morning to keep me occupied." She saw him wince again. "Carolyn's in her office."

"Thanks." Cam made his way off to again to find some relief for his head. He didn't know what he had done last night to deserve this but he hoped he didn't do it again any time soon.

***

Daniel paced back and fourth across his office, he had been restless all morning. The dream he had last night playing on his mind, he couldn't remember the exact details but he knew it had something to do with Vala and Tali.

There was so much he wanted to talk to Vala about but he was afraid to go to her. Her words from the other day ran over and over in his head, she had talked about loving him but was it really her talking or was it the medication? She hadn't exactly been in her right mind when she had told them her 'reason' for leaving. There was also the issue of what would happen when this was all over, would she take the Presidents offer and stay here on Earth or would she leave them again? If she left where would she go? But if she stayed on Earth the same question was relevant, she couldn't stay in her old quarters, not with Tali, and the SGC was no place to raise a child.

Tali.

Just thinking about her brought up more emotions than Daniel could count. He was furious at the thought of how she was brought into the world, just the thought of what Ba'al had done to Vala made his blood boil and his stomach churn. Daniel doubted that Ba'als attempts to find his daughter had stopped and they where all preparing for any attempt he would make to get her back from them.

His fists clenched in anger as he thought about what Ba'al had planed for the child, his child, Ba'al and Vala's child, their daughter. Something niggled at the back of his head at the words 'their daughter' but he pushed it back, not yet willing to admit to it. Tali had only spoken briefly about her 'father' but it was clear to see that she too knew exactly what he had planned for her, that she understood she was nothing more than a possession to him.

Daniel was startled out of his musings by someone by the door coughing loudly.

"Sam, what are you doing here?"

"You should just go and talk to her. She knows you're avoiding her." Sam told him, ignoring his question.

"It's not that simple Sam, you know that."

"Yes it is. Go. Talk. You've been waiting for nearly 5 years to have this conversation with her and she's been waiting even longer to have it with you. Go, I'll keep Tali occupied when she's done with Jack, take her up to the surface for a bit and get some fresh air into her."

Daniel looked about to protest again but the look on Sam's face told him not to bother. "Fine, I'll go, happy now?"

"Ecstatic, take all the time you need, me and Tali will be fine on our own for a while." Sam grinned to herself as she watched Daniel walk down the corridor then went to retrieve Tali from Jack.

***

Vala looked up from her reading when Daniel walked in and sat himself down on the bed beside her with out saying a word. "I've been waiting for you." She told him with no preamble.

He gawked for a moment, what ever he was about to say dieing on his tongue "You have?"

"Yes, although I thought it might take you longer to come." His ducked head was all she needed to tell her that if it was up to him he still wouldn't be here. "Jack's doing I guess?"

"Sam." Daniel told her, there was no point in denying it. "I tried to talk, yesterday, but by the time everyone else was gone you where asleep and then later I got caught up in some work and…I wanted to talk about… to talk about…" He chickened out of what he was going to say. "About why you didn't come to us before it all got this far."

From the look on her face Daniel could tell she knew that wasn't what he really wanted to talk about. "The honest answer?" He nodded "I was scared."

"Scared?"

"Scared of what you all would think, what you would do. I thought you would hate her, hate me." She admitted. "I couldn't come back before it got this far because if you had turned us away I wouldn't have been able to keep going."

Daniel was shocked "How could you think that Vala? She's your daughter and you're _you_, of course we would have helped." She mumbled something, turning her face away from him. "Vala?" He reached out and gently turned her face towards him. "Vala?"

"She's not just my daughter though is she; she's _his_ daughter as well." Even facing him she still wouldn't meet his eyes.

"It doesn't matter. She's still yours." He told her softly.

"So was Adria…" She whispered, finally bringing her eyes to meet his.

"This is different. Adria was a tool of the Ori, a way of bending the ascended rule book, a way for them to take over our galaxy."

"Do you think Ba'als plans are any different? He wanted to use her for his own plans, to take over the galaxy. It's the same Daniel and we… I… she died because of that, because of what they where using her to do. I couldn't risk the same thing happening again, not if I had another option." Tears dropped from her eyes onto Daniels hand where he was still cradling her chin.

He leaned closer to her and wrapped her arm around her, bringing her head to rest on his shoulder. "We would have done everything we could, we are doing everything we can, to make sure the two of you are safe." They sat that way for a while, simply enjoying the closeness after their years of separation.

"Where do we go from here Daniel?" she asked him quietly.

"I don't know." He sighed.

"I wont stay if it's going to be like before, I can't do that again. I need you to know Daniel; I need you to know what happens next or at least what you want to happen. I need you to tell me."

'_I want you, I want Tali, I want everything._' The voice in his head told her but he couldn't make the words come out. She looked up at him and could see the answer in his eyes but it wasn't enough, she was tired of guessing what Daniel wanted.

Vala pulled away from him and lay down, turning her back towards him, and hugged her pillow to her chest. She heard Daniel sigh and felt the bed shift as he walked away from her. Just once she wished that when she pulled away from him he would reach back for her. She made sure he was truly gone before she allowed her tears to fall.

***

"Where are we going?" Tali asked.

"To the surface." The response came.

"Why? Sam said we had to stay under ground." Sam was the smartest person she had ever met, if she said staying on the base was a good idea Tali wasn't going to argue, Sam was supper smart.

"I thought you might like some fresh air."

Tali let go of the hand she was holding. "Does Ima know I'm going up?"

"Sure she does sweetie."

She hesitated a moment before taking the hand again, if Ima knew where she was going it must be ok, and she knew nothing would happen to her, Teal'c had promised.

***

Sam entered the briefing room where Jack and Teal'c where sitting talking. She frowned. "Where's Tali? I thought she might enjoy some time above ground, run around a little after being cooped up in here the past few days."

"She has gone back down to the infirmary to be with her mother." Teal'c told her.

"Are you sure? I just passed there and Vala looked like she was sleeping." Sam dreaded to think what would happen if the small girl got lost on the base.

"Yeah, Carolyn came and got her about 20 minuets ago." Jack put it. "She's fine Sam, relax."

***

From the floor of Dr Lams office Cam groaned and sat himself up. He winced slightly as he touched his forehead and his fingers came away bloody. He closed his eyes and tried to remember what happened.

A book.

A large, heavy, book.

It had been swung it at his head.

It had knocked him out.

Carolyn had hit him over the head with a book. He reached over the desk and grabbed the phone, punching in the number for the Generals office.

***

Teal'c raced out of the elevator towards the check point for the surface, he could see them talking to the guards. He doubled his pace and as soon as he saw Carolyn let go of Tali's hand he fired off a shot from his zat gun.

Carolyn hit the ground.

Tali screamed.

By the time Teal'c got to her she was sobbing and immediately curled up in his arms when he picked her up. Jack and Sam made their way up the long passage behind him, they had missed the elevator Teal'c had dove into and had to wait for another one.

"I want Ima!" Tali screamed from Teal'c arms.

"Go Teal'c. We've got this." Jack ordered him.

Walking down the corridors towards the infirmary Teal'c received many strange looks as the girl in his arms continued to sob and cry for her mother. He was met outside it by Daniel, who had only just heard the news, and they entered together.

Vala sat up straight away as she heard her daughter's distress and when the girl was passed over she cradled her in her arms, holding her tightly and attempting to calm her. She looked up at the 2 men standing in front of her. "What happened?" She demanded, her harsh tone making Tali cringe and Vala immediately regretted it.

"We have a problem."


	11. Bait

AN: There's one wee moment near the end that things get a bit gruesome so be warned.

Hope this satisfies everyone. :o) Let me know what you think.

***

Daniel sat in the briefing room as they tried to decide what should be done about Ba'al. His ship was obviously cloaked somewhere and they where using the time while they where trying to find it to come up with a plan. He wasn't really listening to the conversation though, his attention was on Vala.

She was sitting beside him, Tali asleep in her lap. The girl had cried her self to sleep almost an hour ago but still refused to let go of her mother's shirt. Vala herself looked half dazed, like she wasn't even aware of anything but the small child in her lap. She had one arm wrapped around the girls' side, keeping her close, and the other was running down the length of her hair, soothing her daughter even in sleep. As Daniel continued to watch Vala brought her lower lip between her teeth and began to worry it. This was a sure sign that Vala was doing some deep thinking about something she knew no one was going to like.

Daniel reached under the table as her hand worked its way down Tali's back, when it got to the bottom he grabbed onto it. She didn't turn to look at him but he felt her give his hand a squeeze. Still holding her hand he turned his attention fully back to the briefing.

"We still can't find this ship Sir" Sam was saying. "It must be cloaked on the surface somewhere because we can't pick any disturbance in orbit that is usually present when there's a cloaked ship."

"Can't we simply look for these disturbances on the ground?" Landry asked, he was working purely on nerves at this moment, Carolyn being under Ba'als control was something he wanted to rectify as quickly as possible.

"The cloaking mechanism on ships doesn't create the same effect in atmosphere as it does in space. It's possible that it creates some kind of disturbance and we just don't know what it is but it was only by chance we picked up on it when the ships are in space."

Landry nodded, "If we're not positive I don't want to waste time on it. Any other ideas?"

"Carolyn had a transmitter on her, if we could get her to tell Ba'al she has Tali we could use it to lure him out, find out where he was supposed to pick her up." Cam suggested.

"It could work" Sam added "Even if it doesn't, if he responds to her we can trace the signal back to his ship. It all depends on Carolyn though; if she wont talk to him we can't do it."

"I'll do it." Vala spoke up, there was no emotion in her voice but she tightened her grip on Daniels hand.

"Vala no! It's too dangerous. There's a chance Ba'al doesn't know you've escaped, you can't risk that." Daniel argued.

"It's the only way. If he's had contact with Carolyn he knows that I'm no longer his prisoner, I wont hide from him Daniel."

Even though they where arguing they where keeping their voices low enough that they didn't wake Tali, quietly arguing over her head while the rest of the room looked on.

"It's still too dangerous, you could barley walk half a dozen steps yesterday and now you want us to use you as bait for Ba'al! We'll find another way." Daniel didn't want her with in 3 star systems of Ba'al never mind using herself as bait.

"There isn't another way. This will draw him out a lot quicker than waiting to trace the signal will." She paused, looking down at Tali "Please Daniel, I need to do this."

Daniel didn't get a chance to respond as General Landry cut in.

"You're sure that this will draw him out of hiding?" It was selfish to think but if they could do this with out involving Carolyn further he would do it.

"Yes, the only thing he cares more about than getting Tali back is having me under his control."

"Fine, do it. Get him out in the open then do what you have to do." He stood and left the room.

***

"Wake up my darling." Vala called softly to Tali.

"Ima?" She scrunched her eyes up as she tried to wake.

When Vala was sure the girl was properly awake she sat her down on the chair in front of her. "Tali I need you to listen very carefully to me ok?"

"ok…" She was confused, why did her mother look so worried, the last time she had seen this look was before Vala had sent her through the gate to Teal'c. "Are we going away again?"

"No darling we're not, but I'm going away for just a little bit. You need to stay here with Jack." She brushed some of the girls hair out of her face.

"NO! Please Ima!" Tali began to cry again. "Don't want you to leave again."

"Shh darling, I'll be back by bed time, I promise." She ran her thumbs under Tali's eyes, sweeping away the tears.

"Stay with Jack?" She asked, wiping her nose with her hand.

Vala absently produced a hankie from her pocket and cleaned the girls hand before running it under her nose. "Yes, you'll stay with Jack. He's got a video to show you, it's got talking fish in it." She turned around and motioned from Jack to come in from his place by the door.

"Hey kiddo, you ready to go?" Jack tired to appear cheery as he approached them.

"Uh huh." She sniffed trying to stop her tears.

Vala hugged her daughter tightly and placed a kiss to the top of her head. "I love you my darling girl." She told her. When she stood up she nodded to Jack and left the room, knowing that if she didn't go now she never would.

"Jack?" Tali asked as he picked her up.

"Yeah kiddo?"

"Can we have cake for dinner?"

Jack smiled, Tali was a girl after his own heart.

***

Up on the surface the team was waiting for Vala.

"Jackson! Hey Jackson!" Cam called Daniel for a third time. "You got your head in the game right? No going of the plan on this one."

"Yeah Cam I know." He answered distractedly.

The plan was to use Vala was bait to get onto Ba'als ship and then kill him. It was a simple plan, and Cam liked simple plans, but that didn't mean things couldn't go wrong. The biggest worry in this was Vala, if anything happened to her she might not have the strength to defend herself, and god help them if Ba'al got his hands on her. If that happened Cam knew that all bets where off as to what state Ba'als body would be in when they where done. The two P90's that Teal'c had where worrying enough to begin with, it had taken him a good 20 minuets to convince Teal'c that the gun he had liberated from an Al'kesh would cause more problems than it would solve indoors.

Between the 4 of them they had enough ammo and explosives to over take a small city. No one was taking any chances.

When Vala appeared Cam could tell she was fighting back tears and that she was running on pure adrenalin. "You don't have to come up with us Princess; you can just send the message and then go back down to Tali."

"Thank you for the concern Cameron but it's not needed, I'm fine." She told him abruptly, holding out her hand for the communications devise.

"Alright then, lets get this show on the road."

Cam, Teal'c, Daniel and Sam activated the new modified version of the Sodan cloaking devise. To anyone scanning the area Vala looked to be alone.

Vala took a deep breath before speaking into the transmitter. "Ba'al"

There was a pause for a moment and all that could be heard was static.

"_My pet, this I was not expecting."_ Came his eventual reply.

"I have a deal to offer you." She followed the script in her head.

"_A deal? And why would I want to make a deal with you? When I have the girl back you will be next. It shall make the torture that much more sweet when I do it from the body of Tali." _

Vala suppressed a shudder. "I have a deal you might want to consider. Tali is in the SGC and there's no way for you to get her, but I'm not. I'll go with you, of my own free will, if you leave her here, and leave her alone. I'll give you something better than her."

"_And what would that be my pet?" _

She paused before answering him, trying to get her emotions under control. "I'll give you our son." She paused again "My Lord."

The smirk could be heard in Ba'als voice when he spoke again. _"And what of your friends on Earth?" _

"There is nothing for me here, you where right. They hate me now." Her voice was full of shame.

From SG1s cloaked perspective Vala's performance was Oscar winning.

"_Very well. There is a clearing not far north of you, be there in 10 minuets." _

"Yes my Lord."

The walk to the clearing seemed to take to long and wasn't long enough all at the same time. Vala stumbled occasionally as her strength began to wane but she continued on, her determination to finish this out weighing her need for rest.

When they arrived Vala sat down in the middle of the clearing, her knees drawn up to her chest and her head leaning on them. SG1 stood behind her, invisible to all. Rings descended and with a flash of bright light they were all in the ring room of Ba'als ship.

Six Jaffa stood around the room, their staff weapons all pointed at Vala's head.

Vala heard footsteps approach her and when she looked up Ba'al was directly in front her.

"Kneel" He ordered her. She did as he asked. "Now kiss my feet and proclaim me your lord and master my pet."

Vala leaned forward and closed her eyes tightly to prevent her tears from falling, knowing that SG1 was witness to her humiliation. "You are my Lord and master, Lord Ba'al."

SG1 moved into their positions, each behind a Jaffa, their weapons pointed straight at the backs of their heads.

Ba'al knelt in front of her once she had completed his command and grabbed her face tightly in his hands. "Did you tell them of what I did to you my pet? Did you tell them of how I broke you, how I took everything from you? I wish I could have seen the look on your beloved Dr Jackson's face when he learned of what you had become, nothing more than my whore, a thing to do with as I pleased."

Cam gave the signal and four shots rang out around the room, four of the Jaffa falling forward instantly dead.

Ba'al roared in anger and wrapped his hand tightly around Vala's throat. "You have betrayed me for the last time!"

SG1 de-cloaked and Cam and Sam took out the remaining two Jaffa as Teal'c and Daniel lunged at Ba'al. Vala gasped for breath as Ba'al tightened his hold on her when Teal'c advanced on him. Teal'c felt the anger flow through his veins as he picked Ba'al up and threw him against the wall.

"She is mine!" Ba'al shouted.

Teal'c simply raised both P90s and fired at Ba'als head. He didn't stop until both clips where empty.

"Huh," Cam commented. "I guess you can decapitate someone with a gun."

Daniel was at Vala's side, gathering her up into his arms even as she tried to fight him off. She was shaking uncontrollably and wouldn't respond to his voice.

Cam radioed for the SG teams that had been lying in wait and Sam went to the control panel to ring them on board. They didn't know how many more Jaffa was on the ship and it needed to be cleared and the brainwashing devise found so as to help Carolyn.

"It's over now Vala" Daniel kept repeating to her.

"Jackson, get her back to the SGC, Sam go with them, and me and T will stay and clear the ship. Go" Cam ordered.

Sam moved to the centre of the ring platform and nodded to Teal'c to activate it.

As they ringed out 3 other SG teams ringed in.

***

Daniel, Sam and Vala where bundled into the back of a jeep and sped back to the base.

All in all they had been on Ba'als ship less than 5 minuets and off the base less than an hour.

Daniel carried her past all the check points and down towards the infirmary. Vala sensed where they where headed and began to struggle once again in his arms.

"Maybe she would be better off in one of the VIP rooms?" Sam suggested, there really was no reason for Vala to go back to the infirmary, all Ba'al had managed to do was give her a nasty looking bruise round her neck and it would be easy enough to have someone from the infirmary go to her to check her out.

Daniel nodded and changed direction, heading for his own quarters. Sam didn't comment when they entered that this was not exactly what she meant. He lay her down gently on the bed but when she refused to let go of him he had no choice but to lay down beside her.

"I'll go fill the General in and tell the infirmary staff where you are." Sam said as she helped Daniel pull a blanket over them.

When the door clicked shut Vala buried her head into Daniels chest and he tried to soothe her by rubbing circles on her back. He was worried but if he was honest he would have been more worried if she hadn't broken down. It was something he had been expecting since she had been returned to him and he was simply glad she felt safe enough with him to do it, not only in front of him, but in his arms.

"It's ok Vala, it's over now, you're both safe, he can't hurt you any more." He repeated over and over to her, hoping that if he said them enough she might understand.

They stayed that way until Landry, Sam and a junior doctor from the infirmary came in. Once Vala was checked over and Landry filled them in on news from Cam (the ship had been cleared, they had got the devise and where on their way back, no casualties on our end) the doctor gave Vala something to calm her down and hopefully allow her to fall into a natural sleep.

A few hours later Daniel felt himself being shaken awake by Teal'c, who had a sleeping Tali in his arms. Daniel nodded his head and pulled away from Vala slightly, allowing Teal'c to place the girl between them.

In her sleep Vala felt the presence of her daughter and let go of Daniel to wrap her arms around her. Teal'c bowed and turned, leaving them.

As the door shut and Daniel fell back asleep his arm snaked out and wrapped its self around Vala, holding the two most important people in his life close to him.


	12. Actions and Words

AN: here's the next bit, hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think.

There's one tiny wee swear word in there but somehow I don't think anyone will be offended by it.

We're not going to get to the end of this as soon as I thought because as I was writing this I came up with a few ideas for extra chapters before we get there.

***

When Daniel woke he found himself staring into two huge blue eyes. They weren't the eyes he was expecting though.

Tali looked up at him with a smile, and then wrinkled her nose. "You snore." She told him.

"I do not!" Daniel protested, what ever he had been expecting the girl to say it definitely wasn't that. He shifted his gaze to behind her where Vala had been sleeping but the bed was empty except from him and the small girl. "Where's your mom?" he asked. After last night he didn't want to let Vala out of his sight for a moment, he had never seen anyone cry so hard or for so long.

"Shower." She climbed out from under the blanket and plonked herself squarely onto Daniels chest, crossing her legs. Daniel sat perfectly still, small children where not something he had any experience with. Tali reached down and took his glasses off his face, he hadn't been able to remove them before going to sleep last night, and held them up in front of her own face. "What's these?" She asked as she peered through them.

"There my glasses, they help me see better, because my eyes don't work properly." He reached out and helped the girl put them on her own face.

"They make me see worse!" She told him, obviously confused.

"That's because you have very good eyes." He tried to explain.

"Oh." She took the glasses off and tried to put them back onto Daniels face, after a few attempts he helped her.

"That's better, I can see you properly again." He smiled at her and she rewarded him with a smile of her own, this kid thing was easier than he thought.

"You're funnier than Teal'c is." She told him and he wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. "But not as fun as Jack. He showed me the movie about the fishies with Nemo and Dori and Marlin and all the other fishies in the water and then we had cake for dinner and he didn't make me eat ANYTHING green and then we watched Simpsons and Jack said a naughty word." She finally stopped for a breath "And then Jack told me all about the game with the sticks and the ice, and THEN he fell asleep and I had more cake."

Daniel was amazed; he didn't think he had ever heard anyone give so much information in so little time or without pausing for more than one breath. "So you had fun with Jack then?"

"Yup, then Teal'c came and say I have to go to bed but he didn't make me have a bath. Do you know how to play the flying game?"

"Nope, you'll have to teach me." Daniel was a little wary about anything known as 'the flying game' but if it would keep her occupied he would try it.

"You need to lift me up." She told him, when he didn't move right away she rolled her eyes. "Now." She ordered.

Daniel couldn't help but chuckle, the girl was so like her mother it was uncanny. When he had her held in his arms above his chest she continued. "Now you got to move me about like I'm flying." Daniel nodded and hesitantly at first began to move the girl around. "You need to make the noises." She told him through her giggling. Her good mood was infectious and soon Daniel was getting fully into the game, he couldn't remember the last time he had been this energetic in the morning before coffee.

The two where see wrapped up in there game they didn't notice Vala come out of the bath room, deciding not to disturb them just yet she lent against the doorway, a peaceful smile on her face. Last night had been exactly what she had needed, to be able to let all of her pent up emotions out without having to worry about anything. It had been nearly 5 years since she had been able to do that. When she was Ba'als prisoner she had not given him the satisfaction of breaking down like that and when she was on the run she couldn't because she had to stay strong for her daughter. But last night she had been able to be weak, to let someone care of her while she did what she needed. It had been more cathartic than anything she had ever experienced before.

After a few minuets when they still hadn't noticed her she decided to make her presence known.

"You had better not drop her Daniel." She said, startling both of them. In his shock that was almost exactly what Daniel did.

From her position above Daniel Tali reached her arms out towards her mother and Vala took her from Daniel. Placing her daughter on her hip she turned back to Daniel.

"Thank you, for last night, I just…" She trailed off, unsure of herself.

"Its fine, you needed me and all that matters is that I was finally here."

Tali watched as the two adults simply stared at each other smiling, she had never seen her mother smile like that at anyone and the look on Daniels face was exactly the same. Quickly growing bored she broke the moment between them. "I'm hungry." She announced.

Daniel and Vala broke out of the trance they where in as the girl spoke.

"Breakfast then?" Daniel asked.

"More like lunch Daniel, it's almost 12pm." Vala told him with a chuckle.

"You slept a really long time!" Tali told him, "So did Ima!"

"Lunch it is." He paused, the moment suddenly uncomfortable as he realised he would have to change. "Erm… I just need to…"

Vala realised the problem. "Yes, of course. Come on little lady, lets get you dressed. Say good bye to Daniel."

"Bye Daniel!" She reached her arms out to him "Kiss." She ordered.

Daniel got up and kissed her on the forehead, receiving a rather large wet kiss to his cheek in return. "Ima now." She said with a cheeky grin on her face, causing both Daniel and Vala to go bright red and somewhat awkwardly Daniel placed a kiss to Vala's cheek.

Tali rolled her eyes, grown ups where so stupid, Jack had told her all about how Daniel loved her mother and how her mother loved him too and the two of them had spent the night planning how to make sure they stopped being silly about it all. It had been during this planning that Jack had said his naughty word. "Hungry" she reminded them.

Vala muttered something to Daniel that sounded like a goodbye and left the room.

When the door closed behind them Daniel sat down on the bed, only just realising the full impact the mornings events had on him. Wasn't this what he wanted? To wake up every morning with Vala and Tali and be able to kiss Vala whenever he wanted, not just when prompted? He sighed, this was morning had been the happiest he had been in far too long; even before Vala had left he hadn't known life could be like this.

Making a decision he got up and dressed, preparing to go meet them for lunch.

***

Vala was so distracted by thoughts of Daniel when she was dressing Tali that eventually the small girl had grabbed her clothes from her mother and done it her self.

Vala sighed as she watched her daughter dress herself and thought about what she had seen this morning. Whatever she decided to do next she would have to do it soon. If she stayed here any longer than necessary she risked Tali becoming too attached to the people here but if she chose to stay here permanently she needed to sort things out with Daniel.

In fact she had to sort things out with Daniel before she made any decision. If he was willing to trust her with his emotions and finally admit to what they used to have, and still had if last night was any indication, then she would stay but she wouldn't if things where simply going to return to they way they had been before she left. She couldn't put herself, never mind Tali, through that again.

She sighed again and tried to plaster a smile on her face for her daughter's sake as they headed off to the mess for lunch.

***

By the time Daniel arrived in the mess everyone was already seated and talking away over their lunch trays. The only space left at the table was down the opposite end, and side, from where Vala has Tali perched on her lap. Vala and Sam seemed to be deep in conversation about something while the guys where listening to Tali tell them all about 'Finding Nemo'.

As Daniel sat down he was happy to simply watch the scene in front of him. This was the first time the whole team had been together since Vala had returned, and with the exception of Tali being there it was almost as if nothing had ever changed.

Almost.

They had all changed over the last 4 and half years but none more so than Vala.

It was as if in that moment he could finally see her as she truly was. Not the woman he thought she had been, or the person he had always hoped she would become but the woman she was. Vala had told him that the Daniel she had loved never existed and he began to believe the same was true of the person he had thought Vala was. He watched her talk with Sam but still keep one eye on her daughter, making sure the girl was secure in her lap and cutting up the pancakes in front of her so as Tali could continue her story and eat at the same time. Even after all that she had been through he could still the sparkle in her eye that was just so _Vala _it made his heart ache as he tried to remember how he had survived all those years without seeing it everyday. She had grown in ways he couldn't fathom and yet she was still, underneath it all, the same woman he had first met. Not the pirate and thief, not the con-artist and seductress but the survivor, the strong and smart woman who ultimately was just as lost as the rest of them.

He watched as Tali turned to her mother and asked a question and, upon receiving a reply, jumped down and went up to the counter for something else to eat. As Vala turned to watch her daughter she caught Daniel staring at her and smiled before ducking her head down quickly. She wasn't quite quick enough that Daniel missed the frown that crossed her face.

Daniel was broken out of his thoughts as a loud crash rung through the mess hall.

The room fell silent and all eyes turned to the small girl, a broken dish of jello at her feet.

She looked down at her feet and then up to the table where the adults where sitting. "Shit." She pronounced, scrunching her face up at the mess she had made.

Vala was out of her seat in a flash, lifting her daughter away from the broken glass and up into her arms. Cam motioned to the Airman behind the counter for something to clean the mess up with and as the Airman disappeared into the back room he turned back to the table. Everyone was still watching Vala and Tali as they sat back down and Vala turned the girl towards her.

"That was a very naughty world Tali and we don't say naughty words do we?" Vala told her seriously.

"Sorry Ima…" The girl sounded properly chastised simply from the tone in her mothers voice and the look on her face. She reached up and gave her mother a hug, which Vala returned, before turning back round to the plate in front of her, Jello completely forgotten.

As Cam got up to go help clean up the mess Vala reached her hand out and smacked Jack lightly across the back of his head. "Don't think I don't know it was you she heard that from." She told him.

They finished their lunch and everyone got up to leave, Daniel managing to corner Jack before he could get away. "I need your help with something."

Jack looked confused but nodded and they quickly left together.

***

Several hours later Jack and Daniel reappeared.

They found the rest of SG1 plus its mini-member and her mother in one of the sparing rooms. Apart from them there were about 10 other people in the room, but none of them seemed to mind the noise the girl was making as she watched Teal'c and Cam try to beat each other up in as amusing manner as possible.

Daniel ignored everyone as he strode right up to Vala and lifted Tali out of her arms, setting her on the floor. Vala began to protest but Daniel placed a finger over her lips.

"Stay. Stay here on Earth." She tried to speak around his finger but continued not allowing her the chance. "I'm not asking because I think the SGC needs you or because Earth needs you or even because I don't think you can't take care of yourself or that you don't have anyplace else to go… I'm asking because the thought of you walking away from me again and taking that beautiful girl with you makes me want to scream, because something inside me died when I didn't have you beside me to remind me what life could be like. I'm asking you to stay for me." He removed his finger. "Stay _with_ me."

"Daniel…" The word fell from her lips, so much emotion packed into one little word, her entire world encased in it.

He kissed her then.

In front of his team, the other people in the room and the people who had crowded round the entrance way when they heard what was going on. It was so soft and so gentle that Vala went weak at the knees, falling forward into him, her hands going to his chest as his wrapped around her waist.

"I love you." He told her. "You infuriate me, you drive me up the wall, you nearly killed me on a couple of occasions but I love you, because you make me feel alive again and every things just that little bit less vibrant when you're not around. I was a selfish fool before, but I'm done with that. I know what I want and I want you."

Vala sighed as she lent in and kissed him. "_My Daniel…_"


	13. You did what?

AN: I spent 6 hours in causality today to find out I have 3 broken fingers so you guys have a choice, you can either have shorter chapters posted one a day or you can have longer chapters and have to wait a while for them. Tell me what you want.

You need to forgive me for this being a bit rubbish (and probably full of mistakes because it's not been proofed properly) but between everything that's gone on today and the painkillers the lovely doctor gave me this is what you're getting. Sorry!

Anyhoo let me know what you think and what you want me to do posting wise.

***

Jack and Daniel disappeared off the base after the events in the training room, refusing to divulge where they where going. They didn't return until dinner time and the grin on Jacks face every time he looked at Vala or Tali at least gave a clue as to what their trip had been about.

They collected their trays of food and joined the others at the table.

Tali was sitting with a plate of spaghetti in front of her. "It looks icky." She told Vala "Why can't I just have cake again?"

"You can have some cake once you finish some more of this." Vala patiently told her, from the sounds of it this conversation had been going on for a while.

Seeing Jack sit down opposite her she pointed her finger at him "Jack let me have cake last night!"

"Traitor!" Jack called.

Vala rolled her eyes. "Tali don't point your finger at people. If you don't start eating your dinner you wont be getting _any_ cake, and neither will Jack." She gave Jack a pointed look which told him she was being completely serious.

"But that's not fair!" They both replied at the same time.

There where a few, not well, suppressed sniggers from the rest of the table.

"Any more complaints and it'll be no cake for the rest of the week."

Tali took the warning seriously and with a sigh looked back down to her plate, picking up her fork again and trying to eat. Jack once again proved himself less smart than a 3 year old and continued his protests. "You can't do that!"

Vala looked at him with a wicked glint in her eye. "Want to bet?"

Jack muttered something under his breath and silently went back to his meal

***

Later on that night Sam and Vala where sitting in her lab talking while Tali sat on the floor drawing. Their quiet conversation was interrupted as Daniel knocked on the door.

"Hey, I've been looking for you." Daniel told Vala as he entered, walking over to her he placed a quick kiss to her temple, making Sam smile. "I thought I could watch Tali for you for a while, let you and Sam have some time alone."

"You don't have to do that Daniel." Vala told him.

"I know, but I _want_ to." He turned to face her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I meant what I said earlier. I want you both to stay here with me, I've loved you for a long time and I'm falling in love with that little girl."

Vala smiled at him "Ok darling. But no cake, or sweets of _any _kind, and she has a bath and is in bed by 8. Understood?"

"Totally," He continued when he saw she was about to speak again. "And I'll make sure Jack knows the rules too." He kissed her temple again before going over to Tali. "Come on munchkin, what do you say me and you go find something fun to do?"

She gave him a mega watt smile and ran over to the door. "Bye Ima, bye Sam."

Sam just laughed at the girl's enthusiasm "Good luck Daniel." Her laughter died as she saw the worried frown that passed over Vala's face as Daniel left with her daughter. "Is everything ok?"

"I'm just worried I guess." Vala replied

"Vala, you don't need to worry, she'll be fine with Daniel and Jack, those guys dote on her like she's the only little girl in the world. They wont let anything happen to her."

"I know that Samantha, and I trust them with her but…" She trailed off.

"You're worried about Daniel changing his mind." Sam finished for her.

"It's stupid I know but I'm scared, what if he wakes up tomorrow and realises… I'm so mess up Samantha… what if he wakes up one day and sees how broken I really am. What happens then?" Vala let her head fall forward into her hands. "What if one day he doesn't want us any more?"

"That _wont_ happen Vala. It may have taken him longer than the rest of us to see what he really wanted but now that he's got it he isn't ever going to let it go. He wants you, and he wants Tali. These past few years he's been miserable, I don't think I saw him smile as much in 4 years as he has today. You're not broken Vala, Ba'al lied. You never gave up on escaping, you never gave into him. No one here, especially not Daniel, thinks you're broken."

Vala closed the distance between them and hugged her friend. "I've missed you Samantha." She told her.

Sam smile, it would take awhile but eventually everything would be ok again. "I've missed you too."

***

Daniel ushered Tali into his office where the guys where waiting for them. As far as she could tell nothing fun ever happened here and the look she gave Daniel reflected that thought perfectly. Daniel scooped her up and placed her in the centre of the table.

"Jackson you going to explain what this little get together is all about and why we're doing it in secret." He and Teal'c had been collected by Jack and the general had refused to tell them why.

"I bought a house." Daniel told them, a sheepish smile on his face.

Cam's jaw dropped open and Teal'c raised an eyebrow while Jack stood with a manic grin on his face. Tali just seemed confused by the whole thing.

"A… house?" Cam repeated when he managed to get his jaw off the floor.

"Yes, a house but I need you guys help. I don't want Vala to know what I've done yet because technically I bought her a house and I'm just praying she wants me to live in it with her." Daniel explained.

"You got Ima a house?" Tali stated, clearly as confused as Cam.

Daniel nodded. "I got a house for you and your mom and that's why I need your help. I want you to help me decorate it."

The girls face lit up and she squealed "We never had a proper house before," She told him.

"Jackson are you sure about this?" Cam asked, it seemed like a pretty big thing, even if he had declared his love for the woman in front of half the base this afternoon.

"Totally sure. I don't want Vala to doubt for a second that I don't want her to be here on Earth or that I don't want to be with her."

There was no doubt in Daniels voice and that was enough for Cam, if Daniel wanted to do this then he would help in any way he could. "Alright then, what do you need us to do?"

"I can get the keys this weekend, the house has been empty for a while now so there's no waiting for anything. So I thought we could go and get… paint and stuff, and some furniture and all that." Daniel had to admit this part of the plan was a little less thought out

He had driven past the house almost everyday for the past 4 months. Today when he saw the inside of it he was sure it would be the perfect family home for Vala and Tali, and hopefully one day himself.

As he and Jack had walked around it he had been able to picture Tali playing in the back yard while Vala watched from the kitchen windows. His mind had began to wonder as he looked at the bedrooms, 4 in total, and pictured the last one decorated in pastel colours with a babies crib in the corner. In the master bedroom he had seen himself waking up every morning to Vala while the sun shone through the large windows.

It had been the feeling of peace that had came over him that made him decide to go through with his plan, it made him sure that this wasn't just some impulsive gesture to convince Vala he was serious.

Something deep inside him told him that this is what it was meant to feel like when you came home.


	14. Tears in the Rain

AN: I decided to go for the slightly shorter chapters (around the 1500 word mark) and to keep posting as I was going to, there's quite a few chapters I have half written already so it's not going to be too much of a problem. If anything comes up that needs to be longer then you'll just need to wait for it :oP

Thanks, as always, to everyone who reviewed and thanks to those who expressed their concern for my poor wee hand.

The beginning of this takes place while the guys and Tali are in Daniels lab.

***

Vala sat on the surface of the mountain and allowed the rain to beat down on her. She was soaked to the bone and freezing from the wind but she didn't care, she had to be outside.

The feeling had begun almost an hour ago when she had been in Sam's lab. It had started in her chest, a pressure she couldn't ignore, and had grown outward until it had all but consumed her. The desire to scream and shout, to run until her legs gave out beneath her, to purge herself of the pain inside.

The elements assaulted her and she let out an anguished scream that was swallowed by the wind. Tears began to flow from her eyes and mingle with the rain on her face. She sobbed as the storm raged around her, almost a perfect external mirror for her own emotions, she screamed and cried out and begged the sky for answers. She cried until her eyes burned and screamed until her throat was raw. All the pain and hatred and guilt flowing out of her in one go.

"WHY ME?" She screamed at the darkened sky. "Didn't you take enough from me already? What did I do?"

She received no answer save that of a thunder clap.

Her head fell to her hands and she wept for all that had ever been taken from her, for the years lost to Qetesh, for Adria and the life she should have had, for the man Tommin had been, for all those she had lost over the years and for all of herself that she had lost along the way. She sobbed for every piece of herself she had sacrificed to survive, for the girl she had once been, for the innocence the universe had take from her, for all the things she had never done and all the things she had, for the things she had stood by and watched.

She cried until she felt empty and she cried until she felt full.

She didn't feel the blanket that was placed around her hunched shoulders, or the hand that rubbed her back. She didn't see Daniel kneel beside her and allow her this grief, she didn't see the tears on his own face at her pain.

The wind began to die and the rain stopped as she came back to herself and she looked up into two blue eyes that she could drown in if only she let herself.

"Daniel?" Her voice was hoarse and pained.

"I'm here, I'll always be here." He told her.

"Will you?" She asked, those two words laced with so much doubt it made Daniels heart ache.

"Yes. I promise _never_ to make you doubt that fact again. I let you go once before because I didn't let you know that I wanted, _needed_, you here. I want to be the man you deserve, the father that Tali deserves, the one you wake up to every morning and the one who gives her away at her wedding, in 50 years I still want to be arguing with you over all the stupid little things and I want to play in the yard with our grand children. I want it, all you have to do is trust me." He let it all out in one go.

"I've always trusted you." She told him, "Even when I couldn't trust myself."

"Then take my hand and let's go back inside."

He held his hand out to her and she brought her own, shaking, hand up to meet it. He clasped it tightly but gently in his own and ran his thumb over the back of it. Daniel went to start back but Vala stopped him.

"When I was Ba'als prisoner…" She bagan

"You don't have to tell me anything." He interrupted

"No, I want to. When I was Ba'als prisoner, when he had me in that cell, there was one time I finally gave up. I was so tired and so desperate that I couldn't see a way to go on." She lifted the hand that he was holding and pulled the sleeve of her jacket down, there was the faintest of scar lines across her wrist. "That was the first time I saw you in that cell, you told me that I had to fight, that I had to be stronger, you told me that you believed in me. Even when you where half a galaxy away you still saved me."

Daniel wrapped his arms around her and tried not to think about her lying bleeding on the floor of that cell. He had seen the room the cell was in when they had rescued her and he wasn't sure if "cell" was the word he would chose to describe it, hole in the wall seemed to fit better. It was so small there was no way she could have lain flat out in it and so low that standing was out of the question. The smell of it was something he knew he would never forget.

As he held her wondered what it would have been like if she hadn't left, if she had stayed with them in the SGC. Vala looked up and saw the question in his eyes.

"What is it darling?"

"It's stupid but… do you regret leaving Earth?"

"I used to all the time but I knew the first time I held Tali that I would do it all again in a heart beat." She told him honestly.

Daniel stood in awe of the woman she had become, the mother she had become. He leaned down and kissed her, silently thanking what ever higher power that had sent this amazing woman to him.

"A girl could get used to this kind of treatment." She smiled at him, a proper that was reflected in her eyes, not the fake smiles that everyone who didn't know her like he did thought where true. A weight looked like it had been lifted from her and the shadow that had darkened her eyes was gone, that spark which was uniquely hers shone out like a beacon in the darkness.

The moment was broken as a large shiver ran through her and her teeth began to chatter. Daniel pulled the blanket tighter round her and then wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, before you catch your death from cold."

None of the guards said anything as they passed through the check points and got into the elevator. Daniel silently led her back to his quarters. When they arrived there was a note pinned to the door saying that Teal'c had put Tali to bed in his quarters. Daniel smiled at the large winking face that was obviously drawn by Jack. By the time Vala sat down on the edge of Daniels bed she was shivering so badly it was a wonder she stayed up right. Daniel had to keep reminding himself that in this case shivering was good, not shivering was a clear sign of hypothermia setting in after being out in such weather, shivering meant she was beginning to warm up.

He took the blanket from around her and replaced it with a towel before disappearing over to his wardrobe. Vala watched as he rummaged around in some boxes at the back of it and finally produced a pair of her pyjamas. He gave her a sheepish smile when he turned back to face her.

"I kept you're stuff when you left, so you would have something if you ever came back." He explained.

She nodded her head, now to tired to speak, and allowed him to help her dry and change into the warm clothes. She couldn't help the smile that graced her face when Daniel averted his eyes while helping her change.

Pulling the duvet back he helped her into the bed before switching off the lights and joining her. He lay on his side behind her and pulled her cold body towards him. It was a testament to how cold and exhausted she really was that she didn't make a comment about skin to skin contact being the best way to warm up. Wrapping his arms around her he held her securely to him and allowed his head to rest by the crook of her neck.

For the first time in nearly 5 years Vala slept peacefully.

For the first time in nearly 5 years Daniel went to sleep not worrying if Vala was ok.


	15. Home

AN: By this point Vala's been back at the SGC about 2 weeks, I think… well I'm the writer and I'm saying she has so :oP

Getting to near the end now, only 2 more chapters and an epilogue to go.

As always thanks to everyone who reviewed and to everyone that is reading. Keep doing both of these!

***

It took quite a bit of persuasion before Vala allowed the guys to take Tali for the day the following Saturday. She was spending the day with Sam in the mall while the guys, secretly, got the house ready.

"Wow Jackson, this place is amazing." Cam commented as he walked around the first floor. "How'd you manage to afford all this?"

"I'm only really buying half of it, the government is paying for the rest. Because they offered Vala sanctuary on earth and she has a child she can't stay at the SGC like before so they had to find her someplace else to live. I'm just making sure that it's not some crummy apartment." Daniel explained. "Jack helped get all this organised."

"They going to throw in a job for Vala at the SGC along with all this?" Cam asked.

"We're talking with the IOA, she probably won't be put back into SG1 but if I have anything to say about it she'll at least be getting a consultant job. She's still a useful asset to us." Jack told him as he, Teal'c, and Tali came into the room. "I got paint."

"I got to pick for my room!" Tali told him excitedly.

They all smiled down at her, her enthusiasm contagious.

"Right, so the downstairs doesn't need done, it's only the 4 bedrooms up stairs then this afternoon we need to go get some furniture." Daniel explained the plan.

The downstairs rooms where all painted in a soft cream colour and the kitchen was fully furnished with appliances so they didn't need to worry about that.

Jack produced a USAF t-shirt for Tali to ware so as not to get paint in her clothes and they set to work. Tali had chosen a baby pink colour for the walls for her room and she, Daniel and Teal'c got to work painting while Cam and Jack began painting the master bedroom in a soft lilac. The other 2 rooms where going to be the same cream colour as the downstairs.

For her part Tali had more paint on herself then she got on the walls.

After a while Daniel called her over to a blank bit of wall and taught her how to write her name in English. The letters were crude but after several attempts she had managed to paint something that resembled her name.

"I did it!" She said, a proud smile on her face.

Daniel smiled back at her. "Why don't you go get Cam and Jack and let them see?" He suggested.

As she ran out the room Teal'c came up to stand beside him.

"You will be a good father to her." He told him.

"I hope so." He responded.

By lunch time they had all of the painting done and a pizza was ordered. They sat on the floor of the family room and ate, sharing in the easy conversation that comes after being friends for so long while Tali looked out the window.

Every time a car passed down the street or she saw something new they would hear a small gasp that would soon be followed by a question. Even though she had been on other worlds with Vala everything around her was still new and exciting. Daniel, Teal'c and Jack where reminded of Cassandra when she had first arrived on Earth over 15 years ago. Jack smiled as he remembered buying her a dog and made a note to do the same for Tali once she and Vala where settled.

Once lunch was finished and cleared away Daniel, Tali and Cam went to Ikea while Jack and Teal'c stayed behind to paint the wood work.

At Ikea Tali was allowed to pick out the furniture for her room while Cam and Daniel found things for the master bedroom and the family room. They only picked out the basics so as Vala could pick out the rest of the things she wanted later. After almost 3 hours they where done and they loaded all of the stuff into the van Cam had hired for the day.

By the time they arrived back at the house Tali was asleep in her seat. Daniel took her out of the van and held her as the others got the flat packs out. Once the couch for the family room was in place Daniel placed her on it and covered her over with the blanket she had picked out.

They began to set everything up, starting with the beds, and by the time Tali woke up from her nap, in the early evening, everything was almost done. Along with the furniture for the bedrooms they had gotten a couch, chair and coffee table for the family room and a dinning room table and chairs to go in the large kitchen. Tali laughed as she listened to them struggle with the flat packs and she was physical doubled over when Cam claimed that what they really needed to do this was Sam.

By 8 o'clock Daniel was putting Tali into a bath to clean the paint off of her, Cam was phoning more pizza for dinner, and Jack was calling Sam to let her know they where done. It had taken them 12 hours but they had managed it.

***

Vala looked suspiciously at Sam as she hung up the phone. They had been in the mall for nearly 7 hours and even Vala was beginning to tire, it didn't help that Sam had refused to let them have dinner. She couldn't deny that the time alone had done them good, it had allowed them to rebuild the foundations of their friendship, but Vala was beginning to get the feeling her friend had ulterior motives for this afternoon out. They had been confirmed when she had heard Jack on the other end of the phone tell Sam that they where 'finished' and that she should bring Vala over now.

They left the mall and got into Sam's car, loading their shopping into the boot.

They had replenished most of Vala's wardrobe and had gotten clothes for Tali as well, Vala's accounts from her previous stay on Earth had been turned back over to her and there had still been plenty of money in them. When they had passed the toy store Sam had insisted on buying half the store claiming that a child could never have too many toys.

Vala questioned her relentlessly on what the guys had been doing all day and why they had needed Tali to do it but Sam refused to give away any details, claiming she would find out when they arrived. She also refused to tell Vala where they where going.

When the pulled up outside a large two story house Vala's apprehension grew. The door to the house opened and the guys stepped out, Tali in Daniels arms.

"What's going on?" She asked warily. "Whose house is this?"

Daniel stepped forward and handed her a set of keys. "It's your house now." He told her softly.

Vala stood speechless for a minuet. "But…what?"

"You and Tali can't live at the SGC forever."

"I know but… Daniel did you do this?"

"I may have hurried the process along a bit." He wasn't ready to admit his full involvement just yet.

"I… Thank you." She wrapped her arms around him in a hug, careful of the girl still on his hip.

They all went inside and Vala began to wonder round her new home while they waited for the pizza to arrive. She had known that she would be supplied with a place to live, it was in the contract she had signed when she agreed to stay permanently on Earth, but this wasn't what she had been expecting. She had been thinking more along the lines of an apartment like the one her father had been given.

She was standing in one of the empty spare rooms looking out into the back garden when Cam found her.

"You ok there princess? The pizza arrived nearly 20 minuets ago." It wasn't like Vala to pass up on food.

"Just thinking I guess. I've never had a house before, never mind a garden to go with it." She had a small smile on her face and Cam almost though she seemed content. "I'm just so overwhelmed, this was more than I ever thought I could have."

"Yeah well you can thank Jackson for that." The words where out before he could stop them and Vala saw the guilty look that passed over his face once he had said it.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What exactly does that mean?"

"Just that it was Daniel who organised all this."

"What else Cameron, I can tell when you're hiding something." She had a look on her face that must come with motherhood, the one that says 'I know you're not telling me everything but I'm giving you one last chance to confess,'

"Well… he might have, you know, put some money towards it, so as you two could have some where nice." Cam admitted.

Vala didn't say another word she simply strode past him and down the stairs to the family room. When she reached the entrance way she stopped and folded her arms across her chest, a thunderous look on her face. "Daniel? A word please." She turned and walked into the kitchen, simply expecting him to follow.

"Is something wrong?" He asked worriedly.

"Yes Daniel there is definitely something wrong! You bought this house? Are you completely out of your mind? Where you just not going to tell me that I'm living in _your_ house?" Her arms where still folded but Daniel knew he was one wrong comment away from a whack to the head. "I can't believe you did this. Of all the things… I don't need your hand outs Daniel, I wont be a charity case. I had an agreement with your government, you shouldn't have done this."

"I wanted you to have someplace nice to live Vala, someplace that could really be a home, something permanent." He tried to explain.

"I could have done it on my own Daniel, did you ever stop to think that maybe I would want that? To do it for myself, actually work and save and do the 'normal' things people do to buy houses?"

"I just…" He didn't know what to say.

Vala saw the confusion and hurt in his eyes and it lessened her initial anger at him somewhat. She knew that, as always, he was simply trying to do what he thought was best. She sat down at the table and let out a breath, trying to calm herself, it wouldn't do either of them any good if they simply shouted at each other. That was how they had dealt with there problems before and it had never worked.

"I can't accept this from you Daniel, it's far too much. This house is yours." She reached into her pocket and produced the keys, holding them out to him.

He closed her hand around the keys. "I already have a place to live and the house is _yours_, all the paper work is under your name."

"You still paid for it Daniel."

They stared each other down. It was Vala who looked away first.

"Fine I'll stay in the house but you need to stay here too." He gave her a surprised look. "I'll stay in the house as a guest, but it'll still be your house." She held out her hand for him to shake. "Agreed?" He gave her a smile and shook her hand then used it to pull her up into his embrace.

He lent into kiss her but she put her finger to his lips and stopped him. "Don't think I'm not still mad at you for this stunt." She flashed him a wicked smile and went back to the small party in the family room.

Daniel took her seat at the table, this was not how he had thought today would go, it was even better.


	16. Love

AN: this chapter skips on a wee bit to about 2 weeks later.

Thanks for the reviews :o) I get the feeling you'll be wanting to let me know what you think of this chapter…

It was nearly two weeks before everything began to settle down. Daniel moved his things into the house and together the three of them had started to turn it into a home.

Vala had been given a job at the SGC as an Alien Consultant and Tali had begun to attend the local pre-school. Vala had been apprehensive about it at first but she had realised that the best thing for Tali was to be around normal children her own age; it would help her acclimatise to Earth quicker. Tali had dived right in and was loving every minuet of it, everyday she would come home and tell Vala and Daniel about all the things she had done and learned.

Daniel was taking things with Vala very slowly. He could see that she was beginning to heal but he knew she still had a long road ahead of her. At first every night she would wake from a nightmare, clinging to him, and he could see the fear in her eyes as she struggled to remember where she was but this had lessened and when she awoke she no long forgot that she was safe. Daniel was happy to let her set the pace of their relationship, allowing her to take steps forward when she was ready.

When he had first moved in he had intended to sleep in one of the spare room but it had been Vala that had came to him that night and lead him to her bed. They had shared nothing more than chaste kisses and that was fine with Daniel; he wasn't going to pressure her with the physical aspect of their relationship.

As time went on they made up for their time apart and began to work out the issues that had stood between them for so long.

***

Vala stood in the kitchen putting the dishes from dinner away as Daniel tucked Tali in for the night. It had become their routine over the past few weeks that Vala would give the girl her bath and read her a story before Daniel came in and tucked her in. It gave Tali and Daniel some time that was just theirs.

As she put the last dish away she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her from behind and a soft kiss was placed to her temple. She turned in Daniels arms and returned his kiss with one of her own to his lips. Daniel moved his arms from her waist and took her hands in his, he placed one of her hands on his shoulder while the arm wrapped back around her and clasped the other one near to his heart.

"Dance with me." He asked her softly, a loving smile on his lips.

"There's no music darling." She told him just as softly but began to move with him anyway, leaning her head against his other shoulder.

"It doesn't matter."

Standing in the kitchen of their new home they danced together in a slow almost-waltz as the setting summer sun streamed in the kitchen windows. They danced not to music they could hear but to the music that was in their hearts, simply holding the other close and existing in the moment all other things forgotten.

Vala closed her eyes and for the first time in her life she was content. Her smile grew as an image came into her mind.

_She was standing on the back porch watching as children ran around the yard, laughing in a way only young children can, and their parents sat at the near by table. The two women at the table where talking and laughing as their husbands looked on, smiles on their own faces._

_As she watched two arms wrapped themselves around her and spun her to face her own husband._

"_Dance with me." He told her._

"_But there's no music darling." She told him, following their well rehearsed script._

_He smiled at her with those amazing blue eyes, "It doesn't matter." _

_As they danced their almost-waltz the conversation at the table stopped and the laughter faded as the children came to their parent's side._

"_Why are they dancing?" one of them asked his mother._

"_There dancing because they want to." The woman replied._

_The child looked confused, "But there's no music." He said._

_His mother smiled down and him and lifted him onto her lap. "They don't need any my darling, they can feel the music in their hearts." _

The vision faded and Vala opened her eyes to see Daniel staring down at her.

"You look happy." He told her.

She leaned her head back against his chest and let out a contented sigh "I am happy my Daniel."

They continued their silent dance until the sun had set and moonlight lit the room.

"Come to bed with me Daniel." The words where almost whispered.

He looked down at her, "Are you sure?"

There was no doubt or fear in her eyes when she answered him only the love she hadn't yet been able to tell him she felt. "Yes."

Daniel let go of the hand that was clasped to his chest and used it to sweep the legs from under her. He held her tightly to his chest as he carried her up the stairs to their room.

***

The next morning Tali woke with the sunlight in her eyes. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes she wondered where her mother was, she always woke her in the mornings. She jumped from the bed and ran to the door and down the hall to her mother and Daniel's room. She quietly opened the door and snuck into the room. They were both still fast asleep when she got to the foot of the bed and lifted the covers, climbing on to the bed underneath them. She wriggled her way up to the sleeping adults and woke Daniel by planting her self down on his chest.

She giggled as Daniel woke with a start, waking her mother up with the noise.

"That was mean!" Daniel pouted, an evil look in his eyes, "And you know what happens to mean little girls." He brought his hands up and began to tickle her until she shrieked with laughter.

"Ima Make him stop!" She cried out.

Vala laughed and lent over and pinched Daniel in the side under the blankets.

"Evil woman!" Daniel stated before turning and beginning a new assault on Vala "Say sorry."

Vala couldn't breath she was laughing so hard, "Never." She got out between gasps.

Daniel kept up his attack until Tali tried her own out on him. The tickle war eventually ended with the three of them breathless and smiles on all of their faces.

Tali was the first to recover and screeched, "Breakfast time!" before scrambling off the bed and running out the door.

"Don't run down the stairs!" Daniel and Vala called out at the same time.

Daniel's smile faded as he turned to look at Vala, "You ok?" he asked, worried that last night might have been too much and now she regretted it.

She smiled and leaned in, kissing him deeply. "I'm perfect." She told him, "Come on, before she claims to be wasting away from hunger."

Daniel laughed as he got out of the bed, looking at the clothes scattered on the floor, "Good thing we remembered to put something back on last night." He picked up a discarded shirt and put it so now, along with the pyjama bottoms he had slept in, he was fully clothed.

Vala grabbed her dressing gown from the chair by the bed and together they went down stairs. They found Tali sitting at the kitchen table, bouncing in her seat.

Daniel ran his hand over her hair and kissed her forehead, "What do you want this morning then munchkin?"

"Pancakes!" She said excitedly.

"There's a word that comes after that young lady." Vala told her.

"Pancakes please." She asked again and received a smile and a nod from her mother.

Daniel set about making breakfast for the three of them as Tali and Vala sat at the table.

They continued the morning in relative ease. It was a Saturday and the rest of the team where coming over for lunch later but until then it the time was simply spent enjoying the morning together.

Sam was the first to arrive that afternoon as she was teaching Vala how to cook. The two of them settled themselves in the kitchen as Daniel sat on the back porch watching Tali play in the garden.

By the time the lunch of fresh pasta and garlic bread was on the table everyone was there except for Jack. Jack had taken the last two weeks off to spend them with his old team mates but this was his last weekend and he would be flying back to Washington tomorrow.

Daniel was just about to phone to find out where he was when there was a knock at the door. He answered it to see Jack standing there with a small puppy in his arms.

"Jack? What's with the dog?" Daniel asked, a sneaking suspicion growing in his mind. Jack simply grinned at him and walked towards the back door where everyone was sitting outside at the table. "Vala's going to kill you." Daniel called after him.

Tali's face lit up the moment she saw Jack step through the door with the dog in his arms. As she ran over to him he knelt down to be at her level.

"Doggie?" she asked as she held out her hand hesitantly to pet the puppy.

"Yup, go on, he won't bite." Jack told her.

She stroked the puppy on its head. It was a small black Labrador and it happily let her stroke it and as it tried to lick her hand she began to giggle. "What's its name?" She asked Jack.

"He hasn't got one yet, you need to give him one." A shadow fell over Jack as he talked to the girl. He looked up to see Vala standing over him, "It's an Earth rule" he blurted out, "All children must have a dog."

Vala looked like she was about to challenge him but Tali looked up at her with her big blue eyes and a hopeful expression on her face. "Please Ima, can I keep the doggie?"

"It's up to Daniel; he's the one with all the allergies." Vala backed out of having to tell the girl no, there where times when even she couldn't resist that face.

Daniel knelt down beside her and took a look at the dog before throwing an evil look at Vala. "Of course you can keep the dog munchkin." His allergies hadn't bothered him in years and even then he had never been allergic to dogs.

Tali's face lit up and she threw her tiny arms around Daniels neck, "Thank you daddy!" She hugged him before turning back to the dog, unaware at what she had said or the fact that Daniel had frozen at her words.

He stood up and looked at Vala to see how she had reacted. There was a loving smile on her face and she opened her arms to him. He walked to her and embraced her in a hug. "So I guess I'm daddy now." He said a slight tremor to his voice, "That's ok right? I mean you're not up-set about it or anything?"

Vala kissed him quickly, "She couldn't have a better father than you."

On the ground Tali and Jack where still occupied with the dog.

"He still needs a name." Jack reminded her and the dog woofed in agreement.

Her brow furled in concentration and her bottom lip was caught between her teeth as she thought of a name.

"Jaffa" She pronounced seriously.

There was an explosion of laughter from the other adults and even Teal'c had a large grin on his face.

When the laughter died down Vala gathered Tali up into her arms. "Come on little lady, let's get your hands washed before you eat anything."

***

The team relaxed on the porch as the sun began to set. Lunch had turned into dinner which had turned into after dinner beer.

Cam and Teal'c were playing a game of 'War' with a deck of cards while Jack and Sam sat at the table deep in conversation. Daniel was sitting on the ground with his back against a chair, Vala between his legs resting against his chest. They were watching Tali burn off the rest of her energy by running around with Jaffa.

Daniel tightened his arms around her in a hug as she leant her head further back to look at him. "Thank you Daniel… for all of this."

He leant down and kissed her, "The pleasure was all mine."

She turned her head back to watching Tali, "That's our daughter." She told him a note of wonder in her voice. "Daniel?"

"What?" the whisper in her ear sent shivers down her spine.

"I love you." She told him.

She felt him smile against her neck as he whispered "I know, I love you to."

He was about to kiss her again when a blinding white light filled the back garden.

When it dissipated Morgan le Fay was standing in the middle of the porch.


	17. Family

AN: This isn't as good as it was going to be for 2 reasons. 1) I lost my notebook with the original chapter in it and 2) I finally saw "Watchmen" today and it totally bummed me out that they ruined the best comic book ever. Oh well back to the actual comics is suppose…

And now after 16 chapters and over 30,000 words we get to the point of the whole thing (not to mention the end). This chapter was why I wanted to write the story and the song at the end is what gave me the idea. There might be a an epilogue to this but I'm not too sure yet.

Thanks to everyone that's reviewed along the way. If you haven't this is the last chance :oP so let me know what you think.

Thanks you and good night!

***

As Morgan stepped forward towards the group more Ancients began to appear behind her. By the time she reached the porch the whole garden was filled with them.

She bowed her head to the group, "We have come to repay a debt and to restore that which has been lost."

As they watched the crowd of Ancients parted and Adria walked between them. She was no longer dressed in the red robes of the Orici but in the white flowing dress of the Ancients. She came to stand beside Morgan and then knelt at the feet of SG1.

"The battle is over, the Ori are no more. Adria is now as she should have been. We have removed the knowledge of the Ori from this child's DNA." Morgan began.

She was interrupted by Vala, "She's human?"

"Yes, this is our gift to you, if you choose to accept it. We will reform Adria back to her infant state and allow her to live on this plane with you. She will have no memory of her prior life, a chance for the life that was stolen."

"And if I don't accept it?" Vala didn't mean for the words to sound so harsh and she wasn't ready for the flash of hurt that passed over Adria's face. She felt Daniels hand squeeze her shoulder in support and knew what ever her decision he would support her.

"Then she will be permitted to live as an ascended being among us." Morgan explained.

Vala knelt down to Adria's level and placed her hand under the woman's chin, lifting her head to look into her eyes. The large brown orbs where filled with tears and for once there was an emotion other than anger shining from them.

"I'm sorry." Adria told her, her voice breaking, "Please forgive me Ima."

Vala leaned forward and in taking the crying woman into her arms she truly held her daughter for the first time. Adria clung to her and in a desperate whisper begged her apology.

Vala nodded her head to Morgan, "Do it."

There was another brilliant flash of light as the woman Vala was holding turned into a baby. As the light faded the baby started to cry and Vala began to rock it gently in her arms.

"Our debt is paid." Morgan told them. "That which was lost has been restored, a second chance for all. The Ori are defeated and the Gou'ald are gone, may you live long and happy lives in peace. You are the fifth race, you have earned your place among the great ones and you have earned our respect."

For a third time that night the garden filled with light and then the Ancients where gone.

"Well that was unexpected." Cam broke the silence after a few moments.

Tali pulled at the leg of Daniels trousers and he lifted her up into his arms. Leaning over she looked at the baby in Vala's arms. "That's your sister." Daniel told her as he wrapped his free arm around Vala's shoulders.

"Do we get to keep her too?" She asked Daniel.

He chuckled and placed a kiss to her forehead "We sure do munchkin."

"Cool, a doggy and a sister." She returned Daniels kiss with one of her own.

It was Jack who had to break the family moment, "Vala? We need to take her to the SGC, people are going to need to know about this." When he saw Vala tighten her hold on the baby and move slightly further into Daniels embrace he continued, "No one's going to take her away Vala, we just need make sure she's ok and get this all sorted out."

She sighed deeply before nodding her head, "You're right Jack, let's get this done as quickly as possible."

***

As quickly as possible turned out to be almost 2 days.

Between medical checks and having to retell the story half a dozen times to various people it was a very stressful couple of days. The IOA had stuck their nose in again and had, again, been sent back to Washington with its tail between its legs. Papers had been drawn up and Adria was now officially a citizen of Earth.

Daniel found Vala sitting on a bed in the infirmary, Tali curled up beside her and Adria asleep in her arms. She smiled tiredly at him as he came towards her. "Take us home my Daniel."

And that's exactly what he did.

***

Two and a half years later Vala sat on the back porch watching as her daughters ran around the back yard with Jaffa chasing them. The sun was beating down on her as she sat with a cool drink and her feet propped up in front of her.

So much had changed in the last few years.

6 months after they had been given Adria both Daniel and Vala had left the SGC for good, simply wanting to spend their time with each other and their children. There was the odd time when they were called in to consult on something but neither of them had been off world. For once the Ancients seemed to have been telling the truth, there where no more bad guys to fight and all that was left now was to explore the stars.

Jack had also finally retired and split his time between his cabin and a house not far from their own, happy to spend his days in the company of old friends.

Cam, Sam and Teal'c where still at the SGC and still on SG1. Happy that their days of fighting for their lives where over they were content to explore the wonders of the galaxy. Every Saturday that they where on Earth the team would gather at their house and enjoy dinner and beer.

Vala smiled as a shadow fell over her and removed her sun glasses to look at Daniel.

"You watch yourself in this heat." He told her as he sat beside her on the arm of the chair.

Vala rolled her eyes at him, "You worry too much darling."

Daniel reached out and placed his hand on Vala's swollen stomach, "Got to look out for my boy." He teased.

The boy in question kicked out at his father's hand causing Daniel to smile and Vala to wince slightly. "_Your _son has been rather active today."

"Why is it when their being good there your children but when there misbehaving there mine?" He asked.

She simply laughed at him and patted him condescendingly on the arm.

He stood and held his hand out to her. "Dance with me?"

"There isn't any music darling." She told him.

"Doesn't matter." He simply stated and helped her up.

Daniel held her as close as anyone can hold an 8 month pregnant woman and together they danced slowly in the summer afternoon.

"You seem tense darling." She told him as they moved together, "Our sons going to be fine, you don't need to worry."

"It's not that, I just… I have something I want to ask you." He let go of her and got down on one knee in front of her.

"Daniel…" she gasped.

He took her left hand in both of his as he began to speak, "I love you more than I ever thought I was capable of loving another human being. Vala, will you marry me?" He produced a small black box from his pocket and opened it to reveal an engagement ring.

"My Daniel," Her voice caught as she fought off tears, "I thought you where never going to ask. Yes, I'll marry you."

He slipped the ring onto her finger and stood up. Placing his hands on her cheeks he used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that had escaped and then he kissed her, a kiss filled with all the passion and love he felt for this amazing woman.

The moment was broken by the "Ewwww" that came from the two children standing watching them. As they broke apart they began to laugh and Daniel swept Adria up into his arms.

"Daddy!" she squealed happily "kisses!"

Daniel laughed and obliged his daughters request showering her face with kisses.

Vala smiled as she looked at the scene in front of her.

When she had first met Daniel she had only been interested in taking his ship and had no problem with using what ever method she needed to get it from him but after their encounter something within her wouldn't let the memory fade to just another job. Afterwards she dreamed almost every night of those blue eyes.

_I set out on a narrow way many years ago  
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road  
But I got lost a time or two  
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through  
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you_

Returning to the SGC she was interested in nothing more than getting what she could out of Daniel and his friends, hoping they could lead her to treasure and that she would finally be rid of what ever obsession had led her here.

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are  
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars  
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms  
This much I know is true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you_

She truly regretted marrying Tomin. He was a sweet man who hadn't deserved what she had done to him but she had cared about him in her own way, still though she was plagued with thoughts of Daniel. It wasn't love, not then, but there was still something within her that had told her to seek him out again.

_I think about the years I spent just passing through  
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you  
But you just smile and take my hand  
You've been there you understand  
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true_

When she had returned their relationship had grown, or so she thought. After 4 years living on Earth she wasn't so sure, so she gave up and left. She had left believing that she had no place on Earth and certainly none with Daniel.

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are  
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars  
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms  
This much I know is true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you_

When she was taken by Ba'al thoughts of Daniel had at times been both her salvation and her nightmare. Alone in that cell there where times when both her heart and mind had turned against her.

_Now I'm just rolling home  
Into my lover's arms  
This much I know is true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you_

When she had sent Tali through the gate to Teal'c she hadn't expected to live, she had resigned herself to dieing alone in that cold, dark, cell. She never expected to be rescued; she had never expected things to turn out like this.

_God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you._

As Vala ushered her children into the house she knew that she wouldn't change a moment of their journey.

It might have been a long road but she was finally home.

The End.

***

AN 2: The song is "God Bless the Broken Road" By Rascal Flatts


	18. Epilogue: A Z

AN: Sorry this took so long to get up this was a lot harder to do than I thought it was going to be. Hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think.

Thank you to everyone that has read, reviewed, or added this to their favourites list.

In this Tali is all grown up and looking back at her life.

***

A is for Adria. The little sister who annoys her at times to no end but who she loves the way only an older sister can. They fight and argue and drive each other up the wall but in the end it doesn't matter, their sisters.

B is for Ba'al. She knows he's her 'father' but Daniel will always be her dad. When she was 16 she learned exactly what had brought her and her mother here to Earth, she doesn't think she'll ever hate anyone as much as she does her 'father'.

C is for Cameron. Cam made her sick when she was 5 by giving her some of his macaroons, it had made Sam laugh so much juice had come out her nose. She got to be the flower girl at his and Carolyn's wedding and her mother claims she's never looked sweeter than she did in that dress.

D is for Dad. Daniel may not be her 'father' but he's definitely her dad. He was the one she ran to when she cut her knees and was the one to teach her how to ride her bike. He was there at her college graduation and at her wedding, he was there waiting the first time she came home drunk as a teenager and he was there when her first boyfriend broke her heart. As her mother always said "Family's too important to be left to biology" Daniel might not be her biological father, but he's the one she's always called Daddy.

E is for Earth. It's the only home she can truly remember and the only planet she thinks could earn the name.

F is for fighting. Her parents fight all the time, there's never anything sinister or bad about it, it's just who they are. Some of her earliest memories are of her parents fighting over the breakfast table, smiles plastered to their faces.

G is for "General No". Growing up General Landry was in charge of the SGC and at times she and her siblings visited it, when Aria was 2 and just learning to talk she had called Landry "Genral No" after he had refused them something she now can't remember. The name stuck and now, 30 years later, it's still what they call him.

H is for home. The large 4 bedroom house that her parents still live in will always be home to her. There are marks by the kitchen door showing how she grew and there's a stain on the carpet under the book case in the family room which she hopes her mother never finds. The tree in the back yard still has the tree house in it that she and Adria built with their dad and 'uncles', it's their children who now play in it but every Christmas when there home for the holidays Tali and Adria still go up and sit in it.

I is for Ima. There is so much in that one word, Ima, her mother. Her Ima is the woman she aspires to be. Her dad says she gets more like her every day and one of these days it's going to kill him but there's always so much pride in his eyes when he says it. It was her mother who talked her father into letting her start to date at 16 and it was her that held her as she cried when it all went wrong. When she told her that she was getting married her mother had threw her hands in the air and exclaimed "where did I go wrong with you!" but there was a smile on her face and she had laughed while she hugged her close. She had sobbed at the wedding.

J is for Jack. Growing up Jack was always her partner in crime. He's her dad's best friend but it's her mother he sides with in an argument, simply because the threat of never having cake again has never gone away.

K is for Kleptomaniac. It's what her father affectionate refers to her mother as when she steals something from him. She says it's to 'keep her skills up' and he says it's 'drive him crazy'. She does it at least once a week.

L is for love. She doesn't think she's ever seen two people who love each other the way her parents do. She grew up hearing the story of their love being played out across the stars, and several galaxies, and dreamed that one day someone would love her like that. When she met her husband she learned that there are many different kinds of love, theirs may not be the epic love story that her mother now tells to her own children but it's no less strong and no less deep.

M is for Malachi, her baby brother. It's fair to say that she and Adria picked on him growing up and he had tormented them in return but he was still her little brother and she made sure that no one but her ever picked on him. He's the double of their father and even after all this time she still envies him a little for it.

N is for Naquadah. Like her mother and Sam she has it running through her veins. Neither of her siblings has inherited it so she can only guess it's something she got from her 'father'. Over the years she's seen both her mother and Sam use a hand devise on people and it's not something she ever wants to try for herself.

O is for Orici. It's what Adria was in her 'past life'. Adria had found out about it all when she was 18 after she had started to have nightmares about it. Tali's pretty sure that if they hadn't heard their mother screaming at the Ancients, via the ceiling, they would never have found out. Adria took the news hard and it was a long time before she returned to the bright and out going little sister that Tali loves so much.

P is for Pirates. They never heard normal stories as children, the stories they heard were always about her parents going off to some far corner of the galaxy and getting into trouble. Her favourite stories where the ones her mother would tell about being a 'space pirate', always hunting for treasure and having an adventure. It wasn't until she was much older that she understood exactly what that life had cost her mother.

Q is for quiet time. Growing up their house was always full of noise. It didn't matter if it was her parent's joyful banter, or music, or her and her sibling playing and laughing, there was always noise. Apart from during the quiet time she and her dad would spend in his office on a Sunday morning before everyone else woke. Her dad had a special way of wrapping the silence around them like a comfortable blanket and together they would simply sit and enjoy it. Some of her best childhood memories are of sitting on his lap in that silence.

R is for Ryan. She met him when she was 23 and two years later they where married. She can still remember, and laugh, at the look on his face when her dad and 'uncles' interrogated him and warned him about what would happen if he broke her heart. They needn't have worried, she knows the only thing he'll ever love more than her is their children.

S is for Sam. Sam's her Ima's best friend and the smartest person she ever met. Sam was the one who helped her with her science projects and who taught her to change out the engine in a car. When her daughter was born and Tali looked at those big blue eyes and her blonde hair, which she got from her father, she had known she had to call the baby Samantha. It's a name her daughter has grown into well.

T is for Teal'c. Teal'c was the one person her mother trusted when she had sent her to Earth. To her he'll always be her protector and to him she'll always be the 3 year old who called him "Captain Bubble Beard".

U is for unending. Her mother never finishes a story with the words 'the end.' She always says that nothing ever ends, that people simply come and go in the telling of a story. It's only now that she realises how true this is, now that she has her own stories to tell her own children, stories that continue on from the ones her mother told her as a child.

V is for violence. She remembers very little of her life before she came to Earth but what she does remember is the violence with which her father treated her mother. Even at that young age the sight of her mother's battered body was permanently seared into her memory.

W is for Wonko. Her whole family is completely wonko but she really wouldn't want them any other way.

X is for xenomaniac. It's the word her mother throws back at her father when he calls her a kleptomaniac. When she was 7 she looked it up in the dictionary and found it meant someone with an obsession for different cultures and customs. She's yet to hear a word since that describes her dad so well.

Y is for Yale. She can't remember her father being more proud of her than the day she graduated from Yale University with a degree in languages. It was because of him she had begun to study them and it is because of him that she now teaches them to others.

Z is for Zat guns. When she was 14 she accidentally shot Cam with a Zat that was in her father's office. It was 45 minuets before her hands stopped shaking and she stopped crying, convinced she had irreparably hurt him despite the fact he was the one holding her and trying to calm her down. She's never touched one since.


End file.
